After reading the next chunk of The Influencing Machine by Brooke Gladstone, I was struck by her ideas on objectivity and the ultimate desires of news consumers.
Gladstone asserts, "News consumers say they want objectivity but they choose news outlets that reflect their views" (115).
If we are making choices to consume news that will reflect our views, are we really getting a rounded view of current events? Should we be consuming "comfortable" news that doesn't challenge our personal beliefs and viewpoints? I think that this idea ties into our conversation on Friday. When we attempted to rationalize using news in the classroom we cited the fact that we are molding future citizens. Shouldn't we teach our young people how to choose their news? I believe that an awareness of disparate viewpoints is a very necessary tool.
Gladstone also stated, "Today reporters aren't supposed to make the world better. Their job is to tell you what's going on, so you can make it better" (112).
It is no longer the job of reporters to better the world; instead, they are responsible for educating the masses so they will have the power and knowledge to transform society. This is an immense responsibility with scary implications if we don't adequately prepare students.
Kirsten,
ReplyDeleteI believe education is absolutely essential to creating "smarter" consumers--ones that will hopefully be able to select and discern good news from bad.
But I take issue with Gladstone's remarks. It's easy enough for the media to shift the "immense responsibility" onto the consumer, when in fact, they're part of why the consumer needs to be educated. Hmm... can't disentangle that one. As our new organizations feel it's okay to shirk that responsibility for "making the world better" onto the consumer, they're essentially saying that it's not their problem, and they can obviously do nothing help the situation.
And I think that's simply not true. They aren't powerless, and they have a responsibility to uphold with that power. Yes, they absolutely shouldn't hold it alone, but neither should the consumer.