Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Are You A Savvy Consumer Of News?



A recent survey conducted by Pew Research Center revealed that adults prefer to get their news from television, but that no medium is consumed by the majority for their top news source.

So what does that reveal about us?

People are visual.  They close TV 44% of the time.  34% said online.  14% chose radio.  Just 7% said print.

But the source of news tends to come from print.  What do I mean by this?  The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, LA Times and Boston Globe tend to be quoted by other media outlets and their reporters are interviewed by TV and radio shows.  Online will feature news stories from print.  So this survey doesn’t give the full picture on what people consume.  

Further, many people have multiple news sources.  I happen to get news from all media – radio for 10 minutes when I’m in the car, online when I check while on the train, and the newspaper when I wake up and go to the bathroom.  News at night comes to me when I come home and go through a DVR episode of CBS Evening News.

How do you consume your news? What is your source?  How much news do you consume?  How accurate is the news source?  How much opinion or bias is injected into it?

In an era where more information exists than ever before, and when it is accessible more than ever -- and affordable – the nation seems dumber and less informed. Why is that?

Information travels faster than it can be vetted and edited for accuracy, fairness, and comprehensive perspective.  We have to piece things together over time, from multiple sources, in order to begin to form a more complete picture of the world.  We also have to figure out what role analysis, opinion, and debate should play when putting the facts of the day in perspective.

To be a savvy consumer of media you must:
·         Consume more than one type of media: radio, TV, online, print.
·         Rotate multiple media outlets within a medium-try different TV shows, radio networks, newspapers, websites, etc.
·         Question what you see, read, hear, or click – do not be quick to believe nor dismiss, but do think about what they shared and what they didn’t comment on.
·         Separate fact from opinion.
·         Understand the political, financial, and ideological motives behind, the quality of media coverage being presented to you.
·         Support the media that you find to be ethical and accurate by encouraging others to consume it as well.

It doesn’t matter what you choose to be your preferred medium or main sources of media, as long as you allow yourself to listen to all sides and perspectives.  To only stick with one or two sources and ignore all others is to do yourself a disservice.

“You can’t use up creativity.  The more you use, the more you have.”
--Maya Angelou

“The best advice on writing I’ve ever received was, “Rewrite it!” A lot of editors said that.  They were all right. Writing is really rewriting – making the story better, clearer, truer.”
--Robert Lipsyte

“I think it’s good for a writer to think he’s dying, he works harder.”
--Tennessee Williams

“First, have something to say.  Second, say it.  Third, stop when you have said it.  Fourth, give it a good title.”
--John Shaw Billings

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Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2019. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s Independent.  This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America.

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