Not all news media are dumbing it down
Here's an interesting opinion piece from the Christian Science Monitor about the rise of an elite media and the potential dumbing down of other sources. This way of framing the changes seems to reinforce the expertism model we've been discussing. In this analysis, it makes sense for experts and elites to demand deeper journalism because they have a need to be informed and learn about what each other are doing. Under this scenario, everyone else can talk about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes's baby, since they have no real role to play in the public sphere. Journalists don't have to deliver much to people who aren't asked to do much."There would be definite advantages to a flourishing "elite" media. Those interested in more complex news coverage would have a broader list of places to go and, overall, the quality of the news available to consumers might increase. But there is a twofold problem as well: 1) "serious coverage" might be considered an "elite media" trait only, and 2) the growth of these outlets might lead to a dumbing down (OK, maybe a further dumbing down) among other mainstream news sources.
As wealthier, more news-focused audiences leave mainstream outlets, those outlets will be forced to reach out to different groups to fill the holes in their audience - groups that probably have lighter definitions of news. In other words, a small group of coverage-rich news media will get richer while the rest get poorer in their content.
Is that good or bad? Both, probably. But good or bad, if we drift down that road, it will mean a different kind of democracy and a different society."
If we "drift down that road" it will only be because no one questioned where we are headed or suggested a better alternative. I suppose another term we can add to our "About us" page is "The Questioners."
posted by donica @ 10:35 PM
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