The Bleak State of the News Media

After having read the Pew Research Center's Annual Report on American Journalism, I have to agree with the article's assessment that the print and cable news industries are failing to function as the leading sources of news in America. No doubt, there is little financing to be found in print or cable advertising, and this has lead to an unimpressive, and frankly disappointing, news service.

Because the cash flow within the news industry is decreasing, print and cable news have compromised their quality and authenticity as informative and influential agencies. No wonder readers have opted to find news online, when print and broadcast journalism is so unsophisticated and trashy.

When the journalism industry recognized the deficit in advertising and funding, it should have embraced the concept of returning to basics, instead of resorting to cheap tricks to pull in a greater audience.

I find it embarrassing that a major news source such as NBC must cheapen itself to include superficial content within its programming in order to reach its audience. Certainly, the status of Mel Gibson's marriage is not comparable to a deep report into American politics and economics.

The news media should be cutting edge-- breaking boundaries and social rules in order to provide the most compelling and important information. Instead, print and cable media is a joke. Subsidizing its content with laughable material is a shame. There is so much potential within the media to question and deliberate current issues-- why doesn't the media industry capitalize on fresh and provocative ideas instead of on stale celebrity news?

Are Political Blogs the New Salons of the Twenty First Century?

During the Enlightenment and Renaissance-- the age of conversation-- men and women often congregated in salons in order to discuss politics, civility, and philosophy. Such endeavors promoted discussion and analysis, which, in some form, served as self-reflection and a polite way of checking the government.

The platform for discussing such hot topics as politics, sex, and religion has certainly changed over the past three hundred years-- salons, literary journals, protests, sit-ins, talk shows. Most recently, though, the salon has been transformed into something virtual by way of the blog.

Political blogs are becoming ever-present in American society. Like the salons of the French Renaissance, they discuss the successes, disappointments, and problems of the government and of the country.

Well, discuss might be too strong a verb. True, men and women can respond to blog posts via comments, but I would argue that blogs and comments do not make a conversation. There seems to be little back and forth, very insubstantial argument. And it is argument that brings about change and self-reflection.

Perhaps upcoming technology will advance the features of blogging to include more discussion-like opportunities. Somehow I imagine that concepts like Twitter will be integrated into blogposts so that blogs seem more like a constant conversation.

That said, though, I think the real value of blogs lies in their ideas. But men and women shouldn't have to hide behind a screen to advocate their ideas. While the Internet makes it easier to proclaim certain thoughts, if bloggers are that keen on expressing their opinions, they should step out from the computer and make their voices heard otherwise.

An advocate for conversation-- real conversation-- I fully support a return to the Age of Conversation.

Is the Church in Need of Another Reformation?

Image via Wikipedia

While reciting traditional prayers at a Good Friday service at my church last week, it struck me that things have not really changed in the Catholic Church. Although Vatican II brought about a lot of changes to the Church's practices, there is so much that has remained the same throughout its history. I'm sure that's how many expect and desire it to stay. You can't fight city hall, can you?

While the Church is reluctant to make bold changes, I am surprised, though, that the institution has not used recent media technologies to extend its thousand year old (and then some) mission of spreading the word of God. The possibility to reach a broader audience must excite some within the Church. Or so you would think.

Still, from what I've seen and from what I've experienced, the Church has not caught on. Sure, there are Masses aired on television, religious conversations on Sirius Radio, and podcasts available online-- but the Church has fallen wayside to other, more marketed concepts.

Then again, maybe that's the point. Religion has been marketed for years by missionaries and saints and martyrs, but that seems a little dated, right? Is it better for the Church to embrace its more conservative side and reject modern technology? Would it really make a big impact if the Church suddenly embraced commercialization? Would it change the meaning and intent of the Church?