Category: Media

What Should We Be Paying Attention To?

Sometimes it seems like there is too much news for our limited attention span. When that happens, which stories should we focus on?

On the international stage, there are many ongoing stories that would seem to deserve our attention. There are two significant wars that threaten to turn into world engulfing conflicts, in Asia and in the Middle East.

In addition, there is the ongoing climate crisis. As global temperatures continue to rise, weather events grow stronger and more frequent. More people are displaced from their homes than in any other time in human history.

Domestically in the United States, there are also too many stories to try to follow. Which is more important, ignoring due process or blatant political corruption? Announced tariffs threatening a global trade war or unmarked police forces kidnapping people? Threats to judges and law firms or people around the world going hungry or getting sick because of cancelled contracts and staffing shortages? People suffering from natural disasters being ignored or a significant uptick in airplane accidents threatening flying safety?

The current administration is employing a tactic called “flooding the zone.” This means pursuing multiple actions in a short period of time, so that media, courts, and the public attention span all have trouble keeping up. It is a deliberate strategy designed to sow confusion and apathy.

So what to do? When there are multiple balls being thrown at the same time, how do we decide which one to swing at? What should we be paying attention to?

Related questions: What deserves your attention? Should we pay attention to the news? How do you set priorities? What unimportant things do you focus on too much?

News Or Propaganda?

Do you think your media diet is mostly news, or mostly propaganda? Would you know if you were being given propaganda? How can you tell the difference?

Share why if you wish.

News Or Propaganda?
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Is Everything Broken?

Looking around at all the failing institutions and organizations that surround us, it is easy to ask the question: Is everything broken?

The government seems broken. The current U.S. administration seems intent on dismantling many departments. However, even before that, the legislative body was so deeply divided that new laws rarely got passed. Additionally, the judicial branch is rife with corruption.

Education seems broken. Teachers’ salaries are not competitive with other, non-teaching jobs. Many schools are underfunded, and are overburdened with numerous requirements. Educational outcomes are declining.

Health care seems broken. A family can go bankrupt if one person gets sick. Medical knowledge and technology has never been better, and yet not everyone has equal access to it.

The media seems broken. Due to mergers and bankruptcies, media outlets are concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. The Internet has disrupted traditional delivery and funding methods, which has left newsrooms slashed. In some cases, misinformation and clickbait have replaced actual reporting.

The climate seems broken. Storms are more powerful, droughts more severe, floods are more frequent, and so on. Events that happened once a century now happen once a decade, leading to greater damage and more deaths.

The list goes on and on. Wealth disparity, racial relations, ecosystem collapse, cultural loneliness, immigration, overdose deaths, housing, and more. Systems are increasingly hard to navigate, expensive, and ineffective.

Or is this merely pessimistic thinking? There have always been difficulties. Every generation has challenges to overcome: world wars, financial depressions, assassinations, disease outbreaks, natural disasters. Are things actually worse today than they were, say, 100 years ago? 500 years ago? 10,000?

What do you think? Is everything broken?

Related questions: What is the greatest problem facing humanity? Will the future be better than the present? Why do we put up with unhappiness? Is it a cruel world?

What Is The Role Of An Independent Media?

With the rise of the Internet, traditional media outlets are facing unprecedented difficulties. As they face these problems, what should their role be?

The last 25 years or so have been a difficult time for media outlets. The demand for print newspapers or magazines has all but vanished. Layoffs have gutted newsrooms everywhere. In many cases, clickbait has replaced actual reporting. Misinformation and disinformation runs rampant. Corporations with an ideological bias are buying up struggling newspapers and local TV channels.

Even in the best of times, it can be challenging to determine just what role the media should play.

For example, who does a reporter actually work for? His or her editor? Or perhaps the person who signs the checks? What about the reading or viewing public? Or the advertisers or sponsors that keep the lights on?

Now, however, under the current conditions, finding a role might seem almost impossible. Should they be a watchdog, keeping powerful people in check? Should reporters focus on being sensationalistic, to compete with the endless entertainment options? How conciliatory should they be, both to retain access to sources as well as to keep the billionaire owner happy? Will news producers turn to artificial intelligence rather than reporters to produce articles and scripts? If so, what would that role be?

And finally, what do we, as consumers of news, do about it? How do we get information we can trust? Can we find alternatives when the local newspaper ceases publication? How can we support the media outlets that we like, if there are any?

Related questions: How much do you trust the media? How does media manipulate you? What role should government play in our lives? Should we pay attention to the news?

Do You Listen To The Radio?

There are so many options for news and entertainment. When was the last time you listened to the radio — that is, actually tuned in to a particular frequency on the dial?

Share why if you wish.