As I edge closer to my graduation next June, I have been surveying the job market with a growing sense of doubt. I confided my feelings to a friend over the phone last week and something he said came to mind as I read the material for this week's class. He said, "We are a nation of experts." There has been a trend toward specialization that makes people experts at one thing and completely ignorant in all other matters. Those of us who are doing undergraduate work at the Extension School are bucking that trend. From a corporate perspective, it may be a good thing to have people that are focused on the tasks they are paid to perform. As a society, this condition makes everybody dependent on the media to provide good information about subject matter on which we, as individuals, lack expertise. Chapter four presents a strong argument for reporters to have enough expertise in the subjects that they cover to provide a service to the public.
As we look to the future of on-line media, the instantaneous and participatory nature of it may offer a way to mitigate this problem by tapping the knowledge of a wide range of "experts." The potential risk can already be seen. That is when experts disagree and the consumers are left to choose the side that is the most consistent with their prejudices. The debate over global warming is a good example. Whether the future scenario looks like the former or the latter depends on journalists being able to make critical judgements on the quality of information being provided by conflicting experts.
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