New Media and "Customizable News"

Commenting on the firing of Pat Buchanan from MSNBC, BBC News North American editor Mark Mardell writes, “Left and right live in their little ghettoes of the mind, unwilling to listen to anything that doesn’t reinforce their own views.” He also adds that “the split in the media makes America feel like it is dividing into two armed camps.” The “split” Mardell is referring to is the divide between the liberal and conservatives, which is more evident during election season. And, as Marc Fisher of The Washington Post observes, “it’s clear… the revolution in how Americans get their news has dramatically altered the political process.” Fisher is referring to what he writes “professors at Stanford and UCLA… dubbed… ‘selective exposure’”, and the revolutionary way of getting campaign news is through new media – like blogs, Twitter and Facebook.

In his article “All the news that confirms your views”, Fisher recounts the story of three individuals – Dianne Belsom, Joe Akers Jr. and Flynn McKinney – and their news-consumption habits ahead of the Republican Party primaries in South Carolina. He begins by noting how Belsom sifts through her Facebook newsfeed, not a newspaper, to receive political updates from Newt Gingrich’s campaign trail. He shares how Akers is always on Twitter receiving the latest political news and retweeting (or sharing) those links with nearly 800 followers. By limiting the scope of their news availability, Fisher writes that “citizens are tucking themselves inside information silos”, sort of like a “political echo chamber.” He adds that this creates “an electorate in which [both sides] often not only have their own opinions but also their own sets of facts, making it harder than ever to approach common ground.”  Journalist Bree Nordenson echoes that sentiment when she said, “Personalized home pages, newsfeeds, and e-mail alerts… lead us to create what sociologist Todd Gitlin disparagingly referred to as ‘my news, my world.’ Serendipitous news… is far less frequent in a world of TiVo and online customization tools.” (Baran and Davis 121)

How exactly is the new media impacting news consumption, and is it necessarily a negative impact?

Joseph C. Nerone declared that “the power of the press does not consist of promoting specific ideas or images; [it] is the ability of the major media to be the gatekeepers of the public sphere.” (Nerone 192). By circumventing traditional, objective news outlets, are news consumers rejecting major media in favor of outlets that do promote specific ideas? Is their embracing ideology-centric news equivalent to a general a rejection for traditional news or an aberration? Is there a correlation between the preference for “customized” news and the popularity of blogs? In Baran and Davis, we are told that the search engine Technorati identifies 1.5 million blogs updated on a weekly basis. Some of those blogs are identified as “citizen publishers”, “stand-alone journalists” and “networks of dedicated amateurs who do meaningful journalism.” (Baran and Davis 122) The influence blogging-as-citizen-journalism on traditional news is evident when “most American media outlets allow – even encourage – their writers to maintain blogs to better engage readers.” (Baran and Davis 123) They note how traditional publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Atlantic magazine all have highly popular blogs now.

But is consuming “customized” news contributing to the idea of “tunnel-vision”? In Fisher’s article, we are told that Akers “was never so deep in his information bubble to block out alternative ideas”, adding that although Akers is a Democratic Party official he was considering supporting a slew of Republican candidates before finally opting to stick with President Obama. Belsom admits, “I guess I mostly see what I agree with.” (Fisher) Fisher writes how Belsom’s home is filled with books on “creationism… [and] books warning against pornography, ‘the gay agenda’ and radical Islam” while her daughter is home-schooled because Belsom believes “government schools have an anti-Christian worldview.” (Fisher) It is clear that while both of them share limited approaches to how they receive their news, they interpret it differently as well: Akers uses it to reinforce his political beliefs but still keep them open while Belsom consumes the news that will line up with her religious beliefs and keep them closed.

Denis McQuail stated that “[the media’s] obligations are mainly to be met by setting high or professional standards of informativeness, truth, accuracy, objectivity and balance.” (Baran and Davis 116) With personalized news services, some of those obligations are rejected soundly. But those same services fulfill McQuail’s obligation to “be pluralist and reflect the diversity of… society, giving access to various points of view and to right of reply.” (Baran and Davis 116) Can both obligations be fulfilled simultaneously with new media?

New media outlets make the consumption of specific news content much easier and simpler, and can effectively replace the reach of major media outlets such as newspapers and television. Mardell opines, “It is always better for your mental and political health to throw things at your TV… than nod sagely as it confirms your prejudices.” However, if new media is the one reaffirming prejudices or beliefs, how does one counter it and is it necessary to do so?

References:

Baran, Stanley J. and Dennis K. Davis. “Normative Theories of Mass Communication.” Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment, and Future. Boston: Wadsworth, 2012. 96-131. Print.

Nerone, John C. “Social Responsibility Theory.” McQuail’s Reader in Mass Communication Theory. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage, 2002. 183-195. Print.

Mardell, Mark. “Narrowing of the American Mind?” BBC World News US & Canada 17 Feb. 2012. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17079971

Fisher, Marc.  “All the news that confirms your views.” The Washington Post 21 Jan. 2012, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web.  20 Feb. 2012. http://proquest.umi.com.libraryproxy.quinnipiac.edu/pqdlink?did=2565703901&Fmt=3&clientId=8920&RQT=309&VName=PQD