Thoughts on new(s) media

Back in college, in a certain broadcasting class, our professor imparted that he believed the day was quickly coming when mass media as we knew it then in the year 2001 - particularly broadcast journalism - would cease to exist. In its place, a new kind of citizen-oriented news product would emerge, wherein the consumers would bypass any story they did not deem worthy of their time, and the traditional 30-minute broadcast would be history.

I believe what happened over the weekend did more to hasten that prediction than any of us yet realize.

As many readers know, I have a general distrust and suspicion of mainstream media (see here and here), having worked in the field if only relatively briefly. In general, I believe too often news today is intended to evoke and provoke the audience, at the expense of informing them. More and more what is blatant opinion is passed off as "analysis," if an excuse is made for it at all.

In the end, the ultimate casualty is the lofty and most noble goal of journalism: telling the stories of people. That is what the audience craves: to be provided with context and to be able to empathize with our fellow man, no matter their race, creed, or religion. The best journos are the ones who place events, however complex, into the context of their most important implication: the impact on real people living real lives. Good reporters make the world smaller by showing what unites us, with an honest, tempered assessment of that which divides us. It is a difficult task in and of itself, but it is impossible when you throw in the added proclivity of most today to sensationalize and advance an agenda.

Which brings us to Iran, and the extraordinary role "social" media played and continue to play in the aftermath of that country's election. For a quick primer, read this. For those without the time, allow me to summarize in fewer than 140 characters: Social media is doing the heavy lifting for traditional outlets that can't or won't cover the popular uprising against the Iranian gov't. The microblogging from inside Iran has been remarkably candid, insightful, and informative. It is through these updates from "citizen journalists" that the world learned of events there, and rose to stand with them.

In the States, Tweeters changed profile pics green (to show solidarity with the Iranian opposition party), changed the location and time zone listings of their accounts to confuse potential Iranian censors, and set up proxy servers so Iranian Tweeters could circumvent government firewalls.

And in the process, what emerged is that purest form of journalism to which all young reporters ascribe: The audience interacted with and advanced a truly remarkable story. Not that this was the goal of the protesters in Tehran; there's was a simple relay of events as they unfolded. The tendency of sites like Twitter to encourage brevity allowed no room for long-winded and misguided "interpretation" or "analysis." (Indeed, how can one embellish in only 140 characters?) The purity and simplicity of their "reports" is in dramatic contrast to most of what we see and hear from traditional media, not because of the form these messages took, but truly because of their content - both what was included (a quality of information not found in traditional outlets) and the filler which was left out (and found in abundance in traditional outlets).

As Thomas Jefferson said, "The most valuable of talents is never using two words when one will do." The mainstream media, in the scramble to fill 24-hours' worth of news programming, almost never exhibit this talent. Social media enforces it upon its users.

All of which should serve as a powerful wake up call to the traditional media: As choice in information outlets expands to include real-time descriptions and pictures of events in places you have not yet or will not cover, your relevance shrinks. While my college prof. may not have envisioned this chain of events specifically, it is clear the world is changing in how it receives, disseminates, and responds to information.

You feel me?

AF