The Quality of Modern Journalism

The Quality of Modern Journalism

       Journalism today can be found in many ways across social media. I myself follow channels and people on sites such as Youtube and Facebook, that use their own methods of recording and displaying the latest news, story's and information. I also watch and listen to larger networks such as Global news and CNN. Both sides have their pros and cons when it comes to the quality, relevance and validity of the information given. 

       Citizen journalism has been around since the tools and proper basis of dispersing the information have existed. Anyone and everyone can take part in videoing events that they would like to have commentary on and upload for all of the internet to see and comment on. The most common median of citizen journalism is with cell phones. Every time I have witnessed a crazy event or even walking down the street downtown, I always see people with their cellphones out recording. Now having this power will make it very easy to upload low quality material. Reasons for this would be; a low quality recording device, misleading information from the creator, and all around biased commentary. There are a lot of other reasons but don't get me wrong. Citizen journalism can also be high quality if the right tools and reliable sources are used. Sometimes having an uncensored view on a subject can really open up your mind and make the over all experience even better than a television broadcast.

                   New's networks on television have been around along as the existence of television itself. Mostly controlled by some sort of governing body such as the leaders of the nations and settlements, most of the information given is censored and controlled so that not to offend or give the wrong information to the population. In my opinion this is the most reliable source of information because of the very large budget and cast around the world. Even now the largest new's networks are finding their way on the internet to make it a lot easier to see whats going on half way around the world for example. I see no lose in quality after this switch. Social media has only increased the quality of news and information. 

My Social Media Diet

My Social Media Diet

Written by: Rocco Turco

           

I will start off by saying that I am not a person to diet. When it comes to personal weight luckily for me I have a very fast metabolism and I also workout. What does this have to do with the topic of social media dieting? Well let’s just say that I had a pretty hard time keeping myself from pulling out my smart phone and taking a look at the latest in what is happening in the world. It was definitely a challenge. Lots of interruptions from friends and family and automatic notifications by email and such.

          I first began on a Saturday morning. Usually my routine consists of waking up to check my phone for messages, logging into Facebook to check for notifications and see if anything happened overnight with buddies. Since there always seems to be some crazy thing going on a Friday night! As I got up this time and purposely ignored these things I felt kind of liberated. As if my social media chains have been broken and I can get up get ready for the day ahead of me! Problem though. I don’t use a calendar or anything other than Facebook or my planner on my phone to remind me of dates and what’s going on. So I was a little stuck. I ended up cracking and checking my account! Not even 2 hours into my diet and I have failed. Well what now?

Consciously avoiding social media became a little easier as the weekend passed. I did not check my Facebook and Youtube which saved a lot of time. People messaging me frequently but I only replied to the important ones. By the end of my diet I found myself a little less stressed about wanting to know exactly what was going on with everyone, which reduced my stress level quite a bit! As I have said in my previous blog, social media is not bad. If used in moderation and efficiently it is very useful. I admit to being addicted though. Facebook, Youtube, online gaming, forum posting. I am guilty of wasting hours on end. I will try this diet once again. This time I will be up at my cottage where there is no internet connection. That will be the true test of my will power to say, “I don’t need social media to improve my day to day life!”