Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Anyone for Good News? (aka lost in Globalia)

A recent study says that a well known "Web 2.0" social network or medium seems more like a micro-publishing medium than a "community", in that a few % of the total participants "breadcast" most of the info/views.

We are flooded with so called "news" nowadays, are we not? News and opinions, it seems, with global TV channels/networks ( can count at least 6-7 international ones in English in my cable package, originating from different countries), news agencies, the Net and all its sources, mega, medium and mini, of info and opinion.

But:

a) is there a "market" for good news, or does the "news dogma" that bad news sells still in effect today in this info-mega-pluralistic world we live in (at least those of us who are "wired", side-note: even homeless people in California stay wired, it helps them stay connected with society they argue, a very very interesting "phenomenon", btw)? The global economic crisis continuing (like a daily reality show) "tsunami" of news, news from a major plane crash, etc etc etc. So, do we really "want" good news? Do we "need" them? IMO, we do (need and want) them, but ...

b) is there a market for "simpler" or less "complicated" (or less "mysterious") news? News that can be explained or understood in terms of their correlation with the "dynamics" or "the Whole"? Even economic-financial news and analyses seem to difficult to "explain" or relate to the "big picture", nowadays.

On the other hand, TV viewers around the world continue to be fascinated, it seeems, with "Ben" and the other fictional characters who are lost in an island and in time in a well known TV series.

Comments?

PS. A Reminder: Homer, the ancient guy who spoke/told the stories of the Iliad and Odyssey, was neither a newsperson or a historian (Iliad and Odyssey took place, in some form, a few centuries before him). In other words, no major news agency or TV channel was there to cover the events in Troy or traveled with (was embedded into) Ulysses' crew. On the other hand, later, some leaders did bring with them their own historians (Alexander, Julius, etc).

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