What's the Problem?

“What is the media’s biggest problem?”

Well, geez, syllabus, don’t open a can of worms or anything…

I suppose one’s idea of what constitutes the media’s biggest problem is particularly dependent on whether media are things you primarily consume, or things you primarily create.

Check it: I have to think that if I were a reporter, say, for the Seattle Times, I’d be well convinced that the biggest problem facing my given medium was a declining revenue base, a dwindling interest in traditional media, etc. Were I a site manager/editor for Newsweek.com, I suppose my idea of the biggest problem facing “the media” was how to make my online presence profitable in order to keep paying my reporters and so forth. As it stands, I’m a media consumer, not a pro, and thus I’m having a hard time pinpointing the “biggest problem.” I recognize that most people would probably say something along the lines of “commercialization” or “lack of ethics and overabundance of bias,” but while I’m not fond of either of those things, I’m not altogether convinced they’re without their upsides.

Follow me, here.

It seems to me that the commercialization and bias of most mainstream media, combined with the unprecedented access to information consumers enjoy today, there is an equally unprecedented onus on individuals to do their own due diligence on their garnered information. Now, I’m not saying that this doesn’t lead – and, in fact, hasn’t led, in sometimes incredibly public and embarrassing instances – to the spread of misinformation and so on, but it’s also led to an increase in the awareness of most people to their own responsibility to vet their own information instead of mindlessly consuming what’s presented.

I’m not saying that the corruption of the media is a good thing. But it’s not without its benefits, either.

Food for thought, perhaps.

Cheers!