Wednesday, 25 June 2014

How do you know what you know? A look at the Facebook news frenzy




Screen shot of Huffington Post


Questions posed to me for an assignment exploring social media and the truth:

      • How do you know what you know?
      • Name one new thing you learned using a social media site today and explain why you believe it is true. 
      • What source did you use to acquire this information? 
      • At times, are social media sites reliable for obtaining credible information? 

Hmmm, how do I know what I know? That’s difficult to answer. I feel sort of like a detective. I observe, that’s huge. I research, a lot. I listen, sometimes just because I know I should. And I make connections. Based on prior knowledge, and tricks I’ve picked up over the years, I make connections that form patterns and help guide me pretty close to complete understanding. 

Ok, so I don’t do that every time I come across something new, because before I do any of that I judge a new thing’s significance, whether it is worthy of further thought and exploration. I mean who has time to research everything? But the more you do it the easier it becomes and the more prior knowledge you build on. 

For instance, I follow certain news sites on Facebook, some because I like to share their content with my friends, some that report industry news and others that I find curious. I’m growing pretty tired of the flashy, make-me-have-to-click headlines, and finding a far fetched connection or an opinionated article lacking sources or depth. 

One such article that appeared in my Facebook feed tonight was from Huffington Post’s Media page, which read “The Evening News Will Be All White Guys Again,” (Mirkinson, 2014) with photos of Scott Pelley at CBS, Brian Williams at NBC and now David Muir at ABC — all caught in goofy expressions. What follows this tempting headline are three paragraphs. Three paragraphs pointing out the obvious — that the major networks would now all have white men in the coveted anchor spot. They add a couple of sentences for context, that between 2009 and 2011 Sawyer and Katie Couric both having anchor spots, put them in the majority, and that before 2006 the position was also dominated by white men. They add that PBS is now the only broadcast network to rely on women as anchors. No sources needed, all indisputable facts.

In reality, I wasn’t surprised, maybe a bit disappointed that they didn’t include more about the situation women face in the news business, but not surprised. I’ve come to expect a certain product from these “sharable news stories” put up on Facebook, and I take them in stride. 

And I’m biased, I’m a woman in the field — it’s an important issue for me, one which I’m acutely aware, having held many positions in the newsroom, most recently in management. We’re treated differently, we’re paid less and people expect us to be softer, and are taken aback when we’re assertive — ask any woman managing anything in journalism — it’s the most annoying thing ever.


But bias aside, the reality of the situation is alarming. And there is more context to add to the current situation. Jill Abramson, who served as the first women executive editor of the New York Times, was fired last month and there is much talk about how women fare in the newsroom. Barbara Walters, the first woman to be a network anchor, retired. 

The situation overall isn’t good either. In 1991, women in journalism made about 81 percent of what men made; in more than 20 years that has only increased to 83 percent. A percentage that also hasn’t changed significantly in the last 20 years is the number of women working in journalism. At newspapers, women represent about 36 percent of the staff and in television news, about 40 percent. That number goes down the higher you get in the food chain (Pew, 2014).




                                                           Screen shot from Pew Research Center


It's even worse when you look at racial diversity. The number of people who aren't white has actually decreased in journalism, from 13 to 12 percent, according to the American Society of News Editors. And minorities felt the newsroom cuts the hardest.

I understand what HuffPost was doing. They were trying to make a quick point, trigger a discussion, recruit a few thousand or so people to share their attention-grabbing headline. Hey, this is a business after all, and clicks do matter. 

But I was nevertheless, disappointed.

And it fit in quite nicely with the subject of a book I’m reading, “Blur: How to Know What’s True in the Age of Information Overload.” 

This example would be what the authors Kovach and Rosenstiel (2010) call Journalism of Assertion, which favors speed to depth.

While this form of news may leave a hole, a deep desire for more substance, I understand why it exists. You see, it’s two fold. We like that kind of stuff, we give them the clicks they so desire, they make money, rinse and repeat. And the news organizations stretch themselves so thin that reporters don’t have time for context, for deep research and time-consuming interviews. There is no time for the Journalism of Verification, which favors fully understanding an issue and providing all the necessary facts and context, as Kovach and Rosenstiel (2010) explain it. People claim they desire this type of journalism, yet the churned out stories are bringing in the profits. 

At least the Huffington Post is trying to make succinct what they do have. Even without any sources, some quick research shows that they got right what they did have, so kudos there. 

Some Facebook-favorite sites don’t even try to mask their slant and their lack of fact finding is glaring. Like The Daily Kos post today, get a load of this mouthful: “Sen. Thad Cochran narrowly survived a vicious Tea-Party-and-Koch-fuled primary last night, reminding me to never again give those joker teabaggers any credit.” The blog post goes on to make some really interesting connections, none of which are sourced or based on any stated fact. You could only trust it if you already agreed with it.


Screen shot of Dailykos.com

“We call this model the Journalism of Affirmation, for its appeal is in affirming the preconceptions of the audience, assuring them, gaining their loyalty and then converting that loyalty into advertising revenue,” says Kovach and Rosenstiel (2010), quite brilliantly.

But not all is bad on social media — it’s all getting a bit gamey, sure — but some substance can be scraped from the depths of social media. 

For instance, tonight I learned through an Associated Press report, shared on Facebook by CBS, that a federal appeals court in Denver ruled in favor of gay marriage, and putting the issue into context they pointed out that the issue is one step closer to the Supreme Court. The story has all kinds of sources, interview-based and from statements, they have background on other developments. It’s an actual news story and I learned something, was presented facts that I could dissect and distinguish each source’s credibility. 

The New York Times, NPR and the Christian Science Monitor taught me today that the Supreme Court ruled authorities must have a warrant before searching someone’s cell phone, all were pretty thorough thankfully, as this is such an important story, relevant to our individual lives, the state of our Democracy and even freedom of the press.

Some other notable takeaways from Facebook today: 
  • I learned that researchers are on their way to making a new condom design (courtesy of Upworthy
  • There is a place in Puerto Rico that makes bean flavored ice cream (thanks for letting me know Uncommon Caribbean)
  • North Korea said they will retaliate if a new James DeFranco movie mocking their leader is released (I think they all had this one).
  • And Emperor penguins are adapting to climate change (CBS gave us this one).

Sure, I could have learned about these developments elsewhere, but Facebook made it easy and as I scroll down sifting through the overload, the jacked up headlines that I know have nothing under the hood give me something to snark at, to compare and contrast. 

But I’m a journalist, I naturally gravitate toward news that I observe to be thorough, well reported. I fear some people don’t even notice when a “news” story doesn’t have one source, one interview, or any context — things to look for when trying to identify credibility — and when it is just bloated with jazzy headlines that don’t go on to fulfill that initial promise.

I’ve been pushing myself to use my clicks like my democratic right to a vote, but I’m studying media, I’m in the field — I need to see what the bad stuff looks like, so I guess that makes me part of the problem. And hey, perhaps we need the bad anyhow, to make us appreciate the good.

So I guess I know what I know because I pay attention, at least most of the time, and thanks to Facebook, the bearer of both good and bad news.



References: 
Anderson, M. (2014). As Jill Abramson exits the NY Times, a look at how 

Kos. (2014). Thad Cochran survives thanks to Democrats. The Daily Kos. 

Kovack, B., Rosenstiel, T. (2010). Blur: How to Know What’s True in the 
Age of Information Overload. Bloomsbury USA, New York.

Mirkinson, J. (2014). With Diane Sawyer Leaving, The Evening News Will Be 
All White Guys Once Again. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/25/evening-news-all-male-diane-sawyer_n_5529560.html



Monday, 16 June 2014

Influence of the media

Is social media good?


I have a funny relationship with social media. I'm a journalist, using social media is like a prerequisite these days. And I recognize the power, the incredible uses, the onslaught of personal information and competing headlines, and the sociological insights.


But I feel overburdened with it at times, and perhaps I'm in the minority, but I haven't fallen in love with it, although I am quite proficient. I still have to make an effort, while it seems others crave it, thrive off of it. Don't get me wrong, I have my overkill moments. When I'm deep into an issue and can't wait to share details on social media, getting public opinion, while also devouring everything I can find being discussed on social media.  I guess I'm just not a full-time junkie, more of an occasional binge consumer who keeps up appearances. 


I can't seem to weave Twitter into my daily routine but oh have I tried. I use Twitter when I want to check out a trending topic and particularly when there is drama in the media field so I can see what the insiders are saying. But I find that time consuming and sometimes salacious. I try to tweet insightful tidbits, share articles that I think should be read and offer poetic personal touches without revealing too much — but I don't do this enough to garner a loyal or interested following. As exposure becomes more and more important in my field, I'm constantly exploring new ways of streamlining my social media presence, with a clear and relatable message, and where I can express myself and connect with people on a deeper level.


Facebook I use more often, although guiltily as it's more to check out the latest sensational headlines and odd articles being shared among the masses, and also to stay pseudo connected to friends and family. I try to keep my professional life separate from Facebook and as a rule I only connect with people who I would hang out with in a personal setting, but even that gets a bit blurred. So I am careful to maintain my online image and compose my posts carefully.


Since I'm very focused on my career right now, I'm really enjoying Linkedin. This is almost entirely because I'm going through a transition from full-time newspaper work to part-time teaching, and I'm motivated to take stock in all I've done. Tweaking my Linkedin page, updating my skills and accomplishments, and connecting with other professionals has really pushed me to think about my whole image, my professional image and how I can leverage that to open up opportunities. It also gives me a chance to connect with organizations and people who can help advance my career or provide me with critical information. It's a great professional tool.


Add to this, I now use Google+ to manage a data journalism project I'm working on, Wordpress to teach my students about portfolio building and now I've just joined Blogger! Social media overload or covering all your bases? Hmmm, let's see how it works out before I answer that.


All social media platforms influence our perspectives, some more than others, and particularly if we use them a lot. Out of them all Facebook is probably the most in-your-face influencer, although Twitter can branch out in even more broad ways and have farther reach.


On Facebook, your own personal onslaught of messages is usually from your friends and websites you follow. This can lead to your newsfeed being overrun with sensational articles meant to entice the lustful Facebook user, plus your friends reposting and commenting on the same messages, which together reinforce the messages.


On Twitter, however, all it takes is a hashtag to bring together millions of people virtually under a common cause. But in the case of Twitter, there is more individual seeking out and following certain hashtags and movements, rather than advertisement-type posts on Facebook that are designed to seek you out.


I try to manage what messages I connect with, or give my time to, and I also recognize slanted or overly subjective content, which seems all the craze right now on social media. I see that many news organizations are appealing to our preconceived opinions rather than feeding us objective information. I'm not sure social media has much of an influence on my behaviors, but I know that it makes me acutely aware of my digital footprint. I do observe others getting swept up in daily media storms feeding on our emotions and the mob mentality. 


Like the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Initially all the outlets rushed to condemn the man, as they kept finding commentary and reports by other military personnel calling him a deserter. But when the dust settled, many headlines turned to condemning conservatives for condemning him — it was like they watched the tide of public opinion and gave us news to fit neatly into the box of our existing sentiments. They rushed to confirm our beliefs instead of trying to find the truth.


But then again, I can call on social media any time I need to connect with many people, whether it be for advice, localized input or to gain followers on a particular issue. I have some friends who spend all day sharing messages about animal rights, trying to save a particular dog or fund a program; and I have others who spread awareness on autoimmune diseases, educating people and connecting common interests.


The influence social media has on people can be good and bad. On the negative end of the spectrum you can have false, misleading and socially destructive messages spreading like wildfire and influencing everyone to stand behind a distorted issue. On the positive end, you can rally people around a good cause, garner donations, support and development, by extending your reach and therefore your influence.


So, is social media good?


That can't be answered with a simple yes or no. The answer is, it can be.