I decided to take this past week and change the way I got my information on the world around me. I only read newspapers both in their original form and online.
I did not listen to the radio on the way to work, watch television news or opinion shows at any point, follow blog accounts and, of course, there was not one moment of "social networking". I choose my national paper the Globe and Mail, an American paper The New York Times, and three other papers from different countries depending on my mood.
From different world news organizations, I followed four main news items to get a benchmark. Two were political. The trip of my Prime Minister to Asia and President Obama's Afghan strategy. The other two were new reports of the (un)employment numbers in all countries and climate issues relating to the upcoming Copenhagen summit.
Here are some of my observations.
It was quieter. No one was grand standing on the TV in loud tones to try to show that their opinion was better. I didn't wade through blogs where the writers rely on ALL CAPS to emphasize their point nor did I waste my time on sarcastic opinions of someone I don't know.
Marshall McLuhan was accurate. "The medium is the message."
The news was laid out in a way that the editor of the particular paper felt reflected the urgency of story. When you read accounts of the stories, different countries took angels that were missed when you limited yourself to one location.
Reading only newspapers also reduced words that have value judgements affixed to them. Certainly not all, but most articles were written without the hot button and teaser syndrome that so plagues the television media. It's a layer of human drama that isn't real yet it is added to the story as if it were.
I understand the instant gratification scenario. The sound bite or 140 character "tweet" has filled that desire to a T. But is it really gratifying to waste time and thought on a story when the information is in its infancy and is partial truth and/or innuendo?
I have no problem paying for online newspaper services when that day comes to pass. It was a great exercise and I highly recommend it.
1 comment:
Caroline, what a great idea! It sounds enlightening to remove all those instant media fixes and rely instead on the old stand-bys. I wonder if you noticed any pitfalls, or felt 'behind' the news since you weren't getting instantaneous updates?
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