Push-Pull News
Right now, news is PUSHED at you. Whether you watch TV news or read a newspaper, someone edits what you see and decides what’s important. The industry term is that they PUSH it at you. However, technology allows you to choose what news you see, to PULL it by searching on it or requesting it be sent to you automatically or by clicking on a link. What do you choose to see and hear and learn about? The war in Afghanistan? Or the latest news about Lindsay Lohan, a B-actress and singer at best with a serious drug and alcohol problem?
Be prepared for the death of broadcast journalism: it’s going to follow the death of newspapers. What is killing it is technology: you are making daily choices every time you click on a link. It’s going to get worse: when you can get the news you want on any item, like your eyeglasses or your steering wheel, you’re not going to want to know about Afganistan, first you’re going to want to know about the weather and traffic for your commute. And once you know that, then you’ll probably choose the mental junk food of celebrity coverage, like what Lindsay Lohan is doing today. When that happens, the major newsgathering operations will be gone and all we’ll have left is TMZ, because that’s what we choose. http://www.tmz.com/person/lindsay-lohan/
You vote with your ad dollars and subscriptions. Right now, enough people vote for TMZ that they make money, while traditional news gathering operations are losing money. Enough people vote that way, and voila! The end of journalism. Which way do you vote now? Where did your internet clicks go today?
That’s the Thought for the Day from The Dubmeister.
