Jason MacKenzie treated us to a lecture about the current landscape of media in the UK at Regent University this morning and discussed some really interesting topics. He talked about platforms becoming more like publishers of their own news content and journalists seemingly working to produce content and not so much news stories due to commercial pressure.
He gave us a simple definition of media – the main means of mass communication – and broke it down into 4 different types – print, television, radio, and digital. New age phenomenons, such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality, challenge our definition and interaction with media. Having 6 public relations people for everyone 1 journalist, both in the UK and in the US, leads to the possibility of bias influences in the media, yielding a further challenge to keep true to the value of honesty and transparency.
MacKenzie mentioned the transition from more traditional media to digital media. I feel I have witnessed this a bit more than my peers have since I am a few years older. One classmate said he has never read a newspaper and the statement nearly floored me, since at least skim through one every day. He and most other students in my class may not remember life without a computer in their home and having the option of typing something, anything, into a search bar to learn more about it. MacKenzie raised a question of if traditional and digital media either hurt or help each other. Is it still too soon to tell?
“Universities should be places where your world view should be challenged.” This quote really stuck out to me. I was reminded again today of echo chambers and filter bubbles, and am left questioning if I am indeed stuck in one. Am I being as objective and unbiased in my reading of news and media as I attempt to be when writing my own? I strive to be honest and transparent with whomever my audience may be, and I need to such in my own consumption.