the woes of a 'blog boomer'

Before I begin biting into this topic I would like to clear up some definitional confusion that may have arisen while reading the article. One main issue brought up with the authors’ argument is the lack of specification when discussing what form of blogging is he referring to within his statistics.

The traditional definition of a blog is a personal journal consisting of either private, or public commentary on a particular subject, or occurrence in time.

New VS Old Media

There is no question traditional media has become and will continue to become less
relevant in our changing society. Many people from our grandparents’ generation
still do not know how to use a computer. All their media is in print form or on
television. I think everyone in the class would agree that our generation uses
online media more than our parents do, while our parents view more print media
and television. According to the Newspaper Association of America, about 53% of
Americans ages 18-34 read a print version of the newspaper. 68% of Americans
who are 35 and older read some kind of print version of a newspaper. That
number increases to 77% for Americans 55 and older. This is clear evidence that
the older generations read more traditional news in print than the younger
generation.

I had trouble believing the article by the blogosphere because, first, it was
written two years ago and the number of people moving from traditional media to
new media is increasing at a rapid pace. Second, the pie charts and graphs look
very professional, but the article leaves out a lot of data about the number of
people surveyed, the method used to survey and what demographics were surveyed.
Last, no attribution to any author is always a red flag because the writer is
less culpable for their words.

The last blog post we had was about how email is replacing written forms of letters.
Ms. Jardine’s perspective is similar to what many people think will happen with
traditional media. As we find easier ways to do things, like sending an email
as opposed to the more strenuous act of mailing a letter, more people will move
to the easier technology. I am an aspiring journalist and I went to a sports
writing workshop where Mitch Albom, who is a sports columnist for the Detroit
Free Press, called the newspaper industry a “dying industry.” I had heard this
before, but to hear it from someone who is in the industry and has made such a
great career for himself, I was shocked to hear it. He talked about how the age
of great journalists was coming to an end. The long feature articles, news
stories and columns in newspapers are being put on shorter, simpler and cheaper
posts online. The skill of writing is less important in these quick tweets and blogs.
It is cheaper to get writers because they do not have to be as good and there
is no cost to produce the news because it is not in print. Therefore, producing
lower quality news is actually more profitable. As a result, the trend of
moving to these online forms of media and straying from traditional media is
inevitable in this free market.

Newspaper Association of America. “Newspaper Readership & Audience by Age and Gender.”

The influence of the Blogosphere

       Apathy among the general public regarding politics and government is relatively high here in America, as opposed to other countries. So, I was surprised to see that ‘U.S. politics and government affairs’, the highest category, contributed to 17% of blog stories, 2% higher than traditional press. Then it occurred to me that it actually makes complete sense.
        Most of these politically based links, as a result of the research being done in 2009, revolve around the recently elected President Barack Obama. The 2008 election resulted in many milestones, one being that 66% of young people voted for the Democratic candidate, the most since presidential exit polling began in 1972. Young people, of course, are also more prone to use electronic means of information gathering, readily disposable at their fingertips. I believe the higher politics percentage in the blogosphere can be attributed to young people using technology that are enthusiastic about the most recent election and the new president, for which they voted for.
            It also seems rather logical that 10% of the blog topics were regarding technology, while the traditional press contributed 1% of their overall news stories to technology. Again, younger people, who generally make up the blogosphere, I would assume to be more interested in technology, while older generations do not.
             I think the most interesting debate surrounding the New Media, Old media article, is, as more and more news outlets turn to electronically based outreach, will the trends of topics stray even further from that being covered in the traditional press? Or, with the decline of the traditional press, will new media be forced to reconcile the generation gap and deliver news more applicable to all generations? Or, have the topics covered in the news forever been changed by the blogosphere?

Keeter, Scott. "Young Voters in 2008 Election." Pew Research Center. http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1031/young-voters-in-the-2008-election.

Lardinois, Frederic. "Age, Gender, Location: The Demographics of the Blogosphere." Read Write Web.  http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/age_gender_location_blogosphere_demographics.php.

Traditional Media Is Still Hanging Around

Traditional media is not dead yet. It is actually doing pretty well.

Many may believe that social media has begun to take the audience away from traditional media. However, it is quite the opposite. Social media actually seems to be benefiting traditional media instead of taking popularity from it. It has helped to contribute to the number of viewers of special television events, such as the Superbowl. “As an article in Time magazine shows, social media contributed to the largest TV audience ever for the last Superbowl and TV viewing in general is at or near all time highs in both the US and the U.K.” (2).

Blogs and other more modern media actually share the same stories as traditional media. Politics and international events are top news stories in both traditional media and the blogosphere (1). However, there is often a more personal spin put into blogs. Bloggers want to make an impact on their community of readers and often include their opinion on an event or issue within their blog. This can make it less reliable to receive non-biased coverage. Many people must weed through the blogger’s views and analysis in order to find the main details of a story.

Traditional media, such as television news stations and newspapers, continue to provide the user with factual, less biased coverage on important events. News stations get to the point and provide the viewer with the essential points of a story. We do not watch the nightly news so that we can listen to random news anchor Bill Smith’s opinion on the current Iranian-Israeli conflict.

Convenience also plays into the reason why traditional media is hanging around. Many people would rather be informed by television news stations instead of blog sites. Why? Because watching television takes less effort. The user can be informed of the major events and issues of the day or week while they lay on the couch. However, if you want to be informed through blogs, you have to read through various pages in order be informed.

1) " The Blogosphere | Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ)." Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) | Understanding News in the Information Age. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/blogosphere>.

2)   Greg. "5 Reasons Why Traditional Media is Making a Comeback | Digital Tonto." Digital Tonto. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://www.digitaltonto.com/2010/5-reasons-why-traditional-media-is-making-a-comeback/>. 

The Times, They Are A-Changin'.

     From time to time, a platform- the newspaper, the car, Windows 98- any standard- begins to fall out of use, or be used less and less. The question always turns out to: "Will X be phased out?" Inevitably, people begin to render all sorts of futures without X, and soon enough, people move onto the next big thing, and forget all about X. The truth is, though, X isn't dead- just not as preferable.

Why Blog?

Blogging has become a popular thing among people around the world. Many people have who are studying abroad, or have traveled places keep in touch with friends and family at home by blogging. I know for me, I have multiple friends blogs that I try to follow because they are abroad. And blogging is not just for people who are traveling. Ever seen the movie Julie & Julia? If you haven't, it's about this woman blogger, who has challenged herself to cook every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook, and after she completes each recipe, she blogs about it. (1) So with all this blogging, which is increasing in popularity and power, where does this leave traditional media?

The Tide of Technology

            I believe that at a certain point in time everything we find familiar will be overtaken by something new.  Technology is ever changing, that’s just how it works.  Take for instance how we receive information from the media and other out side sources.  Before the presence of technology it took weeks or even months to send word of an event to someone by horseback and foot.  But as we gained technology times changed, and eventually we found ways to replace slow communication and distribution of news and events to everyone quickly.

            As we headed into an age of technology, the way we received vital outside information changed.  Instead of horseback, we eventually got introduced to the radio and soon after that, the T.V.  While many during the 1900’s received news via newspaper, as the years went on with the help of technology we began finding other ways to find news coverage.

            When radio updates took too long to relay to listeners the news began streaming on the television.  Now three sources of finding news were available.  It is the Internet however that changed the face of media broadcasting in my opinion. 

            People begin to adapt to things when they offer easier access to a task that once took up more time.  For example people once had to drive to buy newspapers and although some may still do so today, electronically filed copies of the same events are online within the comfort of your home.  Internet users said they stopped a subscription to a newspaper or magazine because they now get the same or related content online (Irvine, Don).  This goes to show that once “fads” have now been replaced by newer technology, which is why I believe traditional media will in fact become less relevant in the near future.  We may use the Internet now to receive media broadcasting, but who knows what is in store ten years down the road.

Source:

Irvine, Don. "Newspapers Lose More Ground to the Internet ." Canada Free Press

     28 July 2010: n. pag. Canada Free Press. Web. 28 Mar. 2012.

     <http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/25896>.

Blogging vs. Traditional Media

This is probably the most interesting article I have read in a while. It really gave me a better understanding of how much of an influence that blogging has on the way we receive and comprehend the news in today’s world. Consequently, I think that this will have a major impact traditional media.
I do not necessarily think that blogging beating out traditional media is bad, but if this is how we are going to manage this, then I do think that some things need to change. But first let’s understand what blogging means.  “Blogging consists of one person — or one company — communicating directly with consumers in an unfettered, unfiltered manner. In that sense, blogs are a more personal form of communication."
After viewing the charts, it is clear to see that politics and government dominate most topics of discussion. This is not an effective way to spread this type of media. There is already enough bias in traditional media in how information is interpreted and spread in dealing with politics. I feel the amount of personal bias online is even more intoxicating.
However, I do believe there is a solution to more effective blogging. I noticed that topics such as education, science, environment, and technology were less discussed than topics that dealt with more political issues. I realized that the topics I mentioned are all political as well, but I feel that these topics are more flexible. For example, if we could discuss issues with education, science, or technology even, maybe we could effectively solve problems and advance in those areas. Whereas when dealing with Politics and Government, I feel that it is impractical to obsess over issues we disagree with, instead of finding ways to solve and better situations.
I believe that we could effectively better issues through blogging, if we prioritize the issues in the most practical ways.
http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3304-5-Ways-Blogging-Is-Better-than-Social-Networking

Changes Over Time

            The news used to be something in which a family would gather around the TV and spend quality time together to learn about the world around them. People would watch the news on TV at a particular time because the news was shown once, and if you missed it, you missed it. The news also used to be on the radio. Numerous people listened in their cars on their way to work while drinking their morning coffee. It was convenient for them this way. Many people also used to read the news in newspapers. The paper boy would drop the newspaper off at the front door of one’s home, and they would sit for a good hour and dissect the paper and learn about things that were relevant in the world.

Complementary Angles

            Blogs and traditional media, in the eyes of many, are diametrically opposed in their missions, qualities, and content. However, as blogs have evolved from their origins as “weblogs” of daily activities into the huge variety of news reports, themed information, daily or weekly stories, and all of their other flavors, some of them have become much closer to the mainstream media than many might have believed possible, years ago. This does not mean, though, that more traditional media sources will become obsolete as blogs take over their functions. In fact, many of the blogs that have the closest relationship to traditional news outlets also have the greatest need for them.

RIP Traditional Media

Traditional media is dying out. I rarely see people reading the paper anymore. In my opinion this is sad because there is something very soothing about getting up in the morning and opening the newspaper. Nowadays, people can get their news on the Internet and off of their iPads. News related blogs are becoming increasingly popular because they are a quick and effective way to retrieve information. 

Traditional Media vs. New Media

With the new advances in technology, soon everything will be offered to us online. And that may be the only source in which to find information. The New York Times may no longer be a physical paper since more and more people are using the internet to stay updated about current events. A poll was done that mentioned about 21.7% of Mashable readers said they got their news from a newspaper (2010). Therefore, one can assume that the traditional newspaper may potentially be replaced. With mobile devices that allow us to access the Internet, our lives have become much easier. These devices are more eco-friendly, since the use of paper would no longer be needed. In addition, the ability to access information with the click of a button is so fast and easy. 

Mixing Social Media and Daily News=Convenient

                When looking at the study done by Pew Research Center, I was shocked to see the priority list of Topics of News Coverage.  Many of the popular topics in a blog are not at all popular in traditional press and vice versa. 

            Some of the most popular topics in current blogs are politics, foreign events, science and technology.  The most popular topics in news coverage are politics, foreign events, medicine, crime and economy.  As you can see the only overlapping topics are foreign events and politics.  Looking at the graphs at the bottom of the study done by Pew Research Center, topics also depend on what type of blog or news coverage you are reading or watching.  For example, New York Times focuses on Business, Economy and other, while Fox News focuses almost all of their broadcast time on the “other” category.  BBC focuses 69% of their broadcast time on foreign issues.  As you can see different stations and blogs focus their broadcast time on different topics and issues in the world.  With this said, depending on which channel of blog you decide to tune into you will get different topics of information. 

With all of this information provided it has backed up my thoughts about changing of media information sources.  I believe traditional media sources will become less relevant and online social media sources will continue to grow and will begin to take over our traditional ways of getting information.  Online social media will become more accessible and popular because it is more convenient than buying a newspaper.  In my life, I rarely watch the news or rarely ever pick up a newspaper, but if some type of media information is many people’s statuses on Facebook, I am the first to know what is going on.  I believe in the future Facebook and Twitter will become not only communication databases but also a source of media information.  So for convenience, you will be able to catch up with friends and also check the daily news on Twitter or Facebook.

            This mixture of communication and daily news will not only be more convenient but will also make many more people aware of the news coverage happening around the world.  In the future, online social media will take over traditional types of news coverage because of convenience and the want to go to one website in order to do many things, such as communicate and get the daily news.  Convenience is the overall want in American technology, which is why social media news coverage will begin to flourish. 

"New Media, Old Media." The Blogosphere. 23 May 2010. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/blogosphere>.

Is old fashoned media becoming outdated??

               I remember sitting around my kitchen table when I was young watching my dad read the newspaper after dinner. Is this staple of the American household starting to become a way of the past? After reading the report by the Pew Research Center, I was amazed to see what the priority of news topics was for online bloggers and for old fashioned mainstream media.

"Creative Destruction"

I get all of my news from the Internet.  I’m going to be upfront about it.  In Nicholas Carr’s article, “Is Google Making us Stupid?” he stresses that people no longer have the attention span to read through entire articles – and this is another great example!  By the time I got to the graphics in this article, I was struggling to focus.  I got the main idea, and I could have gotten it in 140 characters or less.  The beauty of getting news from the internet is that you can pick and choose what to read. (Here's an example - if you like this first paragraph, you can choose to click on read more - although at this point you can already see the main idea of this blog post!)