Busy News Day/Week
As if the combination of Holy Week, Tax Day and Tiger Woods’ stunning Masters Championship wasn’t enough news to garner our attention to start the week, all of this took a back seat to the devastating news of the horrific fire at Notre Dame. On a day that will go down in history, like the JFK assassination or 9/11, people will remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.
Media, Media Everywhere
We’ll also remember how we heard the news and where we went to find out more. I personally got the news from a group text. From there, I turned on the TV and multi-tasked at my desk alternating between preparing for a conference call, having that conference call and doing some research. As this was going on for several hours, I was also receiving multiple texts from the same group, many of which included links to various news sites and tweets from other sources. I could have also searched various news sources on my computer to supplement this news.
360 Media
Included in this flood of information from various sources is the fact that we, the consumers have in a sense become transmitters of news as well. While there is a fine line between gossip and sharing news, with technology today, consumers have become vehicles of news and information. Whether it is through a text, a text group, or sharing or posting something on social media, WE have become media vehicles as well.
Trust (or don’t Trust), but Verify
In this day and age of over-saturation of information, countless news sources, propaganda and fake news, as purveyors of news, we need to be socially responsible and verify or disclaim information when sharing news. If not, our “news” is simply gossip on steroids. In my Journalism Classes, I was taught to always get at least three sources before going with a story. While many in the news media rush to get their stories out and no longer employ the three sources rule, since we are relatively new to actively participating in the dissemination of news, maybe we should go “Old School” and live to this higher standard.