Last week I was very fortunate to hear Arianna Huffington speak at the Web2.0 conference in NYC. What I like most about her is her passion! She feels so strongly that media should represent the people, not preach to the people. She deplores misinformation in the media, and welcomes feedback on her own writing. The Huffington Post is always on the lookout for new writers so if any of you have an opinion, speak up!
I agree. This is the power of blogs and the internet in disseminating information . It's interesting that major news networks and bloggers similarly compete for readers, but the results are very different. Among mainstream media outlets, there is a vanilla-izing effect. All the MSM cover the same news, and so to attract a larger audience, they resort to sensationalizing, soundbites, and dumbing down of news.
ReplyDeleteOnline, coverage of a wide array of topics is not unusual. The reader readily visits one site for in-depth financial news and commentary, and another site for political news and commentary. Diversity of topic and opinion is not stifled. Disputes are hashed out among sites and bloggers, all to the benefit of the reader, whose own assessment is enriched by the debate. More information, more interaction, more engaging of competitors and readers all contribute to a better informed reader.