A great TED Talk by Clay Shirky on the controversial SOPA/PIPA legislation popped up on the intertubes today. He outlines how people interact with and share media and how the legislation that will be up for a vote soon could turn all consumers into assumed copyright violators and thieves. Very interesting watch.
Archive for the 'Media' Category
The media loves to stir up controversy. Sensationalism and outrageous ideas help with the ratings and ad revenues, but that doesn’t do much to educate the public.
Jay Smooth asks whether it’s too much to ask of the media to not feed the trolls?
In January, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission announced an open comment period on a proposed modification limiting that clause to “cases in which broadcasters knew the information was false or misleading and that reporting it was likely to endanger the lives, health or safety of the public.”
Speaking on behalf of journalists’ union Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union, Peter Murdoch commented, “Where is the motivation for change that would lower the standards of truth and fairness in broadcast journalism?” And Canadian consumers overwhelmingly agreed, expressing concern about ensuring the veracity of reporting by media outlets.
After uproar, the Commission dropped plans to move forward with the revision this February.
The timing of the attempt to open the door to more manipulative reporting did not go unnoticed by media savvy Canadians. Last year Quebecor Media announced plans to launch Fox-inspired news network Sun TV News. Friendly government-ties to the network were questioned.
It seems that Canadians have learned a thing or two from watching US media broadcasts.
Last December, the University of Maryland release a study that found Fox News watchers ill-informed about the major issues polled on in November, more so than any other news outlet’s viewers. Give the network’s reputation for hyperbolic coverage of policy issues, it’s no wonder that reporting that is high on emotion is short on information. In fact, regardless of the political leanings of those polled, the more Fox News hours clocked the more misinformation they retained.
It’s particularly disturbing because nearly half of Americans trust Fox News, while just 39% trust CNN, the next most trusted network. That Fair and Balanced branding has served them well.
Though the first amendment right to free speech precludes regulations similar to the Canadian RadioCommunication Act in the US, surely some type of truth-telling accreditation should be possible. If food can meet certain standards so as to be declared USDA Organic, why couldn’t chyrons include labeling from news to edutainment to opinion programming?
With the Citizens United case opening elections to unlimited corporate spending on political advertising, it’s more important than ever that Americans know where they can turn to for the actual facts. In the University of Maryland study
9 in 10 voters said that in the 2010 election they encountered information they believed was misleading or false, with 56% saying this occurred frequently. Fifty-four percent said that it had been more frequent than usual.
It shouldn’t be challenging to ferret out the truth when the direction of your democracy can hang in the balance. And yet there’s little assurance that we’re consuming fully veracious content — between the agendas of media outlets and our individual viewer biases — even when we’re looking for it.
As part of the moderated discussion, Gillmor shared his 5 Principles of Media Consumption:
1. Be skeptical.
Don’t take anything you read at face value. The information source can clue you into the bias that may be present. Gillmor dismisses the notion of objectivity; everyone and every media outlet has a worldview of some sort.
2. Don’t be equally skeptical of everything.
Use your best judgment when evaluating media and finding sources to trust. Sweeping generalizations and extremes may raise flags when you’re watching and reading. Over time you’ll find reliable news sources that you can go back to again and again.
3. Question yourself and your worldview.
When you care deeply about an issue it’s hard to remove yourself from that subjective space to consider new information that may conflict with your beliefs. Be willing to challenge your own biases and cast a wider net on the type of media you consume. It’s easy to find news sources that parrot your own beliefs,
4. Seek out opinions and perspectives different from your own.
(3 and 4 could be merged, but then we’d only have 4 principles, which doesn’t feel right.) Do your homework and learn about things you’re not likely to counter in your own life. You’ll be more informed and perhaps a bit more aware of the privileges and disadvantages of the groups you identify with.
5. Understand how media can be used to persuade and manipulate.
Factor in a 24-hour news cycle and profit margins into your consideration of media. What does the media company want you to believe and how does it benefit if you do? Don’t just look at what angles are pursued, but consider why?
Overall, these are excellent basic tips for expanding your worldview, as well as evaluating the weight and accuracy of the media you consume, but how do you convince people that they want or need to move beyond the echo chamber and filter bubble effect? How do you convince people to be skeptical of the news sources that tell them what they want to hear?
We all thoroughly believe our worldview is the correct worldview.
Remember the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor last summer, when Republicans expressed so much concern over her wise Latina remarks? Because the perspective of a privileged white male is so sacrosanct that there must be something wrong with that notion that a group of judges another race, culture or gender might draw different conclusions. To many of the male elected-officials in that hearing, there is only one way to look at the world.
The average media consumer is no different.
For more, you can download Mediactive for free or buy a copy.
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