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On Media and News
By oceanguy | October 29, 2007
Those of us who blog or follow blogs have long recognized that the traditional media… The Mainstream Media… is no longer the gatekeeper of the news, despite the way they try to hold on to that power. The New York Times and CBS, among others, have been slow in recognizing it, but the fact remains, most of America is changing the way they receive their news… And even blogs are only a small part of the “new media.” Yesterday, I had a brief glimpse of the new media working to spread the news.
My daughter brought a few friends home for a weekend break from the University of South Carolina. They came to see what the Georgia Florida Game weekend was all about… and by all accounts had a great time. But by 10:00 yesterday [Sunday] morning, things started changing. That’s when the first text messages and phone calls brought them the news of a fire at a beach house in North Carolina. One of the boys that was supposed to be a guest in my house had changed his plans and gone to the beach instead… he was in that beach house… He made it out but others had not. The first news was at least 3 of their friends had been killed.
Not all of the reports were accurate, and it took a while for the stories to come together… 6 missing… 7 missing… 6 dead… 4 got out… the first few minutes were pretty confused, but the information kept flowing. Their network of friends was getting the story out through their cell phones and blackberries. We checked online and at first found nothing… nothing on the TV news either. Then, about noon, we got the first Google hits returning a basic outline of the story. But the girls were craving information and we were all frustrated at how slowly it was trickling out… their cell phone network was so much faster and surprisingly reliable.
As the girls pieced together the story and discovered the names of some of the victims, one of the old gatekeepers of the news, the AP, was reporting that it would be several days before the names would be released. But through cell phones and IM’s and facebook, the story and names were already widely known.
Meanwhile I was just happy to have my daughter in sight. I couldn’t stop thinking about the shock and grief that other parents were…are… facing. It’s unimaginable. My heart and prayers go out to them.
No doubt the “new media” of social networking on the internet, cell phones, IM’s, and text messages will help their healing. The young women I watched piece the story together were remarkably sophisticated in the weight they put on the information being received via text messages. They showed me very little need for, and even less regard for, any “official” press gatekeeper.
I suppose at some point there is a lesson or two we can take from this on the old media and the old official procedures… and about our need to recognize a new reality of communication. But there will be time for that later, grieving and healing is the priority now. Seven families of those who were killed… The six survivors who escaped and undoubtedly are racked with guilt and unimaginable memories… they need all the support and positive energy the rest of us can give.
Topics: Life |
October 29th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
I’m so very sorry about your daughter’s friends. *sigh* I had been gone most of the weekend and hadn’t heard the news until late last night.
Your daughter found out about her friends the way they are supposed to… from other friends, not from the MSM. That is definitely as it should be. Texting and cell phones make it faster to spread the news than before, but we wouldn’t want family and friends receiving the news from a broadcast.
October 30th, 2007 at 10:05 am
The truth is that friends and family are SUPPOSED to find out who is dead or injured before the public at large. The news media may announce that it “may be several days” before names are known, but often they really mean “it will be days before all the family is informed, so we’re not saying.” And that’s as it should be. Would you want to hear that you’ve lost a loved one on the evening new?
I’m glad your daughter is safe; it’s a terrible thing to lose friends so young.
October 30th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Thanks Teresa. Yes, she found out in the best way possible. I think it’s a very good thing that the old gatekeepers have lost so much of their influence.
CL, I guess I came across in a way I didn’t intend. I think it’s terrific that new ways of spreading information are used in such a sophisticated manor. In light of that, I think the traditional media and traditional “officialdom” needs to rethink their control over the official information.
I said the first reports were surprisingly reliable.. not 100% correct but surprisingly reliable. These young women recognized they needed to fill in the story and were able to do so relatively quickly. I have to assume that the families of those killed were notified quickly too… but I don’t know.
I do know there were others who were affected in less direct ways that were depending on “official” reports which are sadly too slow in coming.
Whether it’s car accidents, fires, or even combat casualties, the speed that close friends and family can receive news far outpaces the official channels. I think it’s probably time for some official channels to relax their standards and get more information out earlier… But it’s probably those very few people who could never tolerate a mistake or any incorrect information that will keep any change from happening.
This morning The State newspaper in Columbia, published the names and profiles of the victims with the caveat that the information had been gathered from social networking sites… Officialdom had still not released the info….
There is a balance to be struck, and I’m generally in the camp of “more information earlier,” especially when most of the information is released anyway… whether it’s photos of an accident vehicle… pictures of a house in flames… or whatever. “Officialdom” is not protecting anyone by withholding names or other information… and if it’s my child, I want to know as soon as possible… even if it’s from TV. I don’t want people keeping information from me to protect my feelings.
October 30th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
It is just more evidence that the world has changed. The MSM is going to be forced to make more changes or be left behind.
October 31st, 2007 at 8:29 am
So glad to hear your daughter is alright, but ohhh I hurt for the other families. I will have the students and families in my thoughts and prayers….
November 1st, 2007 at 11:33 pm
[…] tragedy, although thankfully not one of such great dimensions, brought to Ocean Guy’s attention the fact that the new technology means that every single person can become a news source, with […]
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:58 pm
[…] tragedy, although thankfully not one of such great dimensions, brought to Ocean Guy’s attention the fact that the new technology means that every single person can become a news source, with […]
November 6th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
hey ocean dude
i featured this post on my site today
thanks