Laughs from the speakers...
Greenberg- It helps to have industries. "If you take a look at the intersection of resources and values and institutions in society, what you find is that if an institution operates according to accepted standards, it will attract resources." We have resources because we have operated within a set of values. "The institutions will enforce the proper set of ethics because it allows us to continue to operate." The danger lies in consumers who do not know what sources to trust.
While the question was somewhat “dumbed” down on the blogpost…
ReplyDeleteYes, it helps to have industries, but is that really enough to ensure ethical, honest reporting? As Mr. Greenberg says, “the danger lies in consumers”…
Within his work Republic.com 2.0, Sunstein directly opposes Greenberg’s assertion that “institutions will enforce the proper set of ethics.” He instead suggests that consumers are driving the show, leading the “industries” astray in a hunt for their attention. He describes the issues as they relate to the demand side of the media business: “these are problems that stem not from the actions of producers, but instead from the choices and preferences of consumers” (13). Therein, he turns the relationship described by Greenberg upside down. The media businesses follow the consumers; the consumers do not follow the media companies. His point is further clarified through a discussion of consumer attention. Describing the monopolistic behavior of media companies, he discusses an “important” production fact: “consumers’ attention is the crucial (and scarce) commodity in the emerging market” (15). He uses the pursuit of “attention” to illustrate the leader, and follower in the relationship, showing that the media production agencies can only hope to draw consumer attention. Subject material, therefore, is up to the choices of the consumer, and if nobody elects to watch programs that cover the great “moral” issues of our time, they will gradually be edited out of the mainstream news coverage.
The same can be said about ethical reporting. With media subject material effectively up to the “gradual editing” of the consumer population, nobody can state, with confidence, that ethics will be maintained. Take an example: two news agencies cover the same stories, but one uses sensationalist, and, sometimes, deceitful reporting techniques to generate greater excitement, or interest amongst the consumers. The more popular agency draws higher levels of consumer attention, diverts funding from the other agency, and, ultimately, in this extreme case, drives the other company into bankruptcy. The populace has spoken; the ethical reporting agency has gone down, replaced by a false, sensationalist “company.” Yes, this example is extreme, and would most likely be stymied by media criticism—the fourth estate monitoring the fourth estate—but who is to say that such things couldn’t happen gradually—just as Sunstein seems to fear? Ultimately, Greenberg’s assertion does not stand up against Sunstein’s arguments, and should be carefully considered before being accepted as truth, or a personal belief.
Listening in on the perspectives of Gearheart, Wilson and Greenberg was an interesting look into the complex world of media and the rapid changes that are affecting its long term viability. The panelists all presented different information based upon the area of media in which they are involved in, allowing those in the audience to see what problems overlap the media in print, radio and television and those problems that are entirely specific to a certain medium.
ReplyDeleteI found Greenberg's ideas about journalism ethics to be most interesting. As a man with longstanding involvement in public radio, Greenberg is certainly someone with a great deal of experience in dealing with the ethics of media in his broadcasts. He referenced the idea of the importance of a physical plant as Will Ryan mentioned in an earlier class discussion-- during the initial creation of banks, a physical plant was the only way to assure a customer that it was, in fact, an established business without shady intentions. Greenberg continued to say that if "an institution operates according to accepted standards, it will attract resources,". This idea was further developed when discussing the possible longevity of blogs such as Huffington Post and Slate. Despite the fact that these blogs are unique in that they do have staff reporters, they continue to rely heavily on the work done by reporters at media institutions such as the New York Times and Fox. The work done at many blogs is not original, but rather a second-hand copy of the time and effort put in by true reporters finding out the facts. These reporters are the resources of abiding by ethical journalism. People purchase media that is consistently true and accurate which gains this media credibility and wealth. With this, they are able to hire reporters to write original stories. In the end, journalism ethics are a true driving force behind the longevity of media institutions who are able to use it to defend their establishment with as much effectiveness as their physical plant.
While Greenburg seems to believe that following journalistic best practices will give institutions resources. However, as Alistair has already pointed out, when resources are distributed to institutions by consumers, it isn't who produces good journalism, its who produces entertaining journalism. Case in point: FOX News and their coverage of the "Birthers". Clearly this was utterly fallacious journalism, but it brought in viewers, and those viewers it did bring in were so set in their views that they refused to admit FOX had lied. The fact is, if you tell a lie people want to believe, it is unlikely they will call you on it. Moreover, a sensational, false piece of journalism is going to attract a lot of attention -- a short retraction a few issues later is going to attract little to none. Frankly, only consumers interested in the truth will flock to truthful news sources, and sadly, many consumers aren't interested in the truth, only the affirmation of their biases and entertainment.
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