Madeline’s Modern Media Memorandum
In Friday’s class, Professor Gabe Kahn said, “Technology rips apart the ‘bundle’ concept.” Upon looking at my media diary from Monday and Tuesday’s assignment, I found this statement to ring true: almost all of my media attention was divided into individualized sectors.
Unlike the way news was consumed in the mid-1900s, modern technology has allowed for a more broad, spread out, and individualized approach to media intake. Whereas before the Internet, the only place to receive your news was by watching the major news stations or reading a newspaper, I find myself absorbing information from several outlets, devices, and media companies.
For example: Twitter. This addicting social news site was responsible for most of the pathways to my consumption. Upon checking my Twitter feed Tuesday morning, I clicked Pitchfork’s post that led to an article featuring Grimes’ brand-new music video for her song “Kill Vs. Maim” (one that I’d been highly anticipating). Pitchfork is a highly individualized news publication; it centers on the modern indie music scene and is regarded for its album reviews and dependable artist news. For this reason, I trust it to provide breaking news, accurate information, and insightful articles about artists I care about.
Not only did social media sites like Twitter bring news to my attention, but also the radio shows I’d listen to during my commutes to school. I like the radio because it doesn’t require any effort to consume it. It just feels easy and relaxed. There was one news story in particular, however, where I’d wished I had been able to visually see the face of the voices talking.
It was a news story about the British parliament deciding on whether to ban Donald Trump from entering their country. A classically British voice described him as “bonkers,” then another as “a wazzock,” and I chuckled. Later, when I watched the same story on CBS Evening News, I was able to see all the faces of the British Parliament members arguing over Trump, and I enjoyed the story even more. The visual element can add a lot to a story.
Another interesting thing I noticed was, believe it or not — I actually read a newspaper during my diary days! There happened to be a large stack of my local newspaper, Downtown News, sitting in the foyer of my apartment building. I picked one up and skimmed through it for the next 10 minutes or so. I jumped around from story to story, though, because I found myself getting bored with the articles quickly. Perhaps the digital age has shortened my attention span. I should probably take this into consideration when producing content for future generations of media digesters.
But, like I mentioned, Downtown News is a media publication that is written for a specific community. I wouldn’t find a story about Downtown LA’s newest grocery store on Politico just like I wouldn’t find the headline of a new Grimes music video on the CBS Evening News. Everything is segmented for different audiences.
Because news is no longer being presented in a bundle, our responsibility as consumers is to seek out the news we wish to learn about. Even though technology has made news more accessible, we still must have an understanding of where to look for it — which app to download, which medium to enjoy, and which publication we’ll allow for the spamming of our inboxes with daily alerts.
