Are We There Yet?

For years, society has been moving towards globalization. With the development of wireless communication it is easier now than ever before to relay information to a person anywhere in the world. Not only is information globalized, but the media that is used to communicate the information (newspapers, television, email, etc.) has developed to be more global as well. Any well-respected news outlet not only has an international component, but can be translated—at least in the online version—in several different languages. However in recent years, there seems to be a trend of “information overload.” Because news outlets are looking to communicate so much information, readers and viewers are not clear on how to filter the information. They are interested in something in particular, but can not access it because it is hidden by so much other information. So now the move is toward segmented globalization, especially with news. Because of this journalists have to find a way to give their audiences what they want.
With the segmented globalization, people are turning to news sources that have a narrow focus. In turn, they get only the news they want. It is similar to looking for the right cold medicine. In any typical American pharmacy there are tons of choices for cold medicine. On top of that, each medicine treats a different set of symptoms. But if a person only has a few of the symptoms he/she has to take the medicine for everything just to treat his/her one ailment. The analogy applies to the news industry as well; people have to watch or read all of the news just to get the piece they want. That is why people are turning to outlets like MTV for entertainment news and Sports Illustrated for sports analysis, rather than the nightly newscast or daily newspaper.
Sources like these allow for more in-depth reporting. Now, instead of getting the overview of a story, journalists have time and space to expand their story because they do not have to share time and space with other types of stories. This is what the audience is looking for. Though society is still globalized, audiences are looking for information pertaining to their particular interests. So the newsstand may be covered with magazines and newspapers that cover every different topic, but not every topic is in every single publication. The same trend is happening in television news as well. For example Headline News, a franchise of CNN, has a primetime lineup each night. Now as a package, the primetime lineup covers all of the current events, but each show has it’s own focus. There is an entertainment show, a news analysis show, and a viewer call-in show. Now viewers only have to watch the show that fits their preferences. In other words, journalists have the responsibility to give the audience the news, but package it in a way that is familiar and relative to each person.
Though this move has advantages for both the journalist and the audience, there are several drawbacks as well. One of the major concerns is that the audience is not getting the information that it needs. According to Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel in their book The Elements of Journalism, “The primary purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with the information they need to be free and self-governing,” (17). This is not only their belief, but that of many journalists. The idea behind this definition is that journalists are gatekeepers. As gatekeepers, there is full access to information, but the decision has to be made about what information is pertinent enough to pass on to the general public. So, the audience may not know what they need to know and it is the journalist’s responsibility to give it to them. This shift in journalism takes the opposite approach. Instead of beginning with the information, journalists now begin with the audience and format the information to their personal interests.
Although journalism has already moved in this direction there are several steps that journalists still must take in order to make this new trend effective. The first step is conducting more audience research. Just like a company that wants to sell a new product, a focus group should be developed. They should be asked about the way in which they consume the news. Not only is it important to find the medium the majority of the people use, but what type of information they are looking for in the news. While this trend is in its “fundamental” stages, it is the responsibility of every journalist to engage in this type of activity. If each journalist could specialize in one segment of news, any news outlet could adequately provide the audience with their information without hiding it behind other information. The next step is to embrace the move to the online world. The internet permeates much of the common person’s life, however people know little about its capabilities. If journalists could show people its capabilities through this type of segmentation, it would also appeal to the audience in great numbers. Though it may not be the empirical role, today’s journalist has a responsibility to provide the public with the information they want to incorporate into their lives.