We Media and Democracy - Tammy Baldwin

Over the summer I learnt about various news stories from different sources including: the BBC News app, social media and BBC Radio 2. Out of these I believe the BBC to be the most trustworthy source as it is paid for by the tax payers themselves and they expect it to deliver the correct information to the public with an objective view. The main social media I used to gain the news was Twitter. Twitter can be seen as both a trustworthy and untrustworthy source depending on where/who you are getting the information from. For example there is a section called ‘Moments’ which gives the reader updates of the news and what’s happening across various different sections e.g. News, Sports, Entertainment etc. However, it can be argued that some of these sections are untrustworthy, or don’t get the full story as they come from people that aren’t always news corporations or journalists but are just normal people dispersing the news. However, unlike the BBC News app Twitter gives people the chance to respond to these stories with their own views on the subject, therefore gaining a bigger insight and subjective opinions of the issues. On the other hand, if someone was to follow one of the verified BBC News Twitter accounts they would get reliable information as well as seeing other people’s comments and opinions.

The BBC News app allows people to curate their own news consumption by choosing the subjects they wish to read about. For example some of the sections I chose included: animals, Afghanistan, social media and film; because they are the subjects I am interested in. One story I learnt about was the actions that took place in Kabul (capital of Afghanistan). This included kidnappings of US and Australian professors, which are just some of the recent accounts of this common offence in Afghanistan at this time; a university raid that killed thirteen people including seven students; and a charity hit by a bomb and gun attack killing 41 people including an army general and four senior police officers. Although these stories are very serious and tragic I never saw them featured on world news. I think this is because everyone has become accustomed to these attacks in Afghanistan and feel helpless when they see the stories on the news. However, earlier in the year when Paris was attacked it was a massive global news story because other countries that we thought were safe suddenly weren’t, which scared a lot of people. This could show that most people only pay attention to issues that may affect them, making them feel unsafe as the violence has left places like Afghanistan.

However, people don’t prefer to hear bad news which is why there’s something called the ‘art of distraction’, this is where people will immerse themselves in news stories that are more light-hearted. An example of this is TV shows/films and the many people who care what others make of a plot or a change. One story that has dominated the news in the UK is the move of the Great British Bake Off from the BBC to Channel 4. Even though this news story doesn’t seem too important, and won’t matter in the future, people get involved in the drama because it distracts them for the real issues going on in the world. It could also be argued that this is such a big deal because it directly affects the BBC so they will deliver the news that they are able to gain the whole story for, but it may be harder for them to stay unbiased when it affects them, their income, and their viewing numbers.

Due to social media, stories/rumours now days can go viral, which means the whole world will learn about these stories through the use of twitter hashtags, YouTube videos, and Facebook pages. One obvious example of this is the gorilla called Harambe that was killed at a zoo in Cincinnati after a three-year-old boy climbed into its enclosure. This story exploded the media with pictures and videos commemorating Harambe. There was even a video showing the actual footage of the boy being dragged by the gorilla taken on someone’s smart phone which was the footage shown on the news, displaying how democracy in media allows people to share news stories themselves through the use of new technology. However, it can be disputed whether or not these are respectful or not as it is has turned a serious issue into to a joke. This just goes to show how far the media has evolved during the last decade, because if this event happened before these big social media sites it probably wouldn’t have been world-wide news.

It is now easier to get the news from various sources in minutes, sometimes even as they are still happening through the use of things such as live streams. This means that the news therefore spreads easier and faster over the world enabling anyone with the resources to see what’s happening. Sometimes this mass dispersion of media can lead people to get the wrong ideas by just reading the headlines of the articles, or seeing a untrustworthy source post a ‘click-bate’ title that makes the issues seem worse or better than it actually is just to get people to read it. This therefore promotes commotion and confusion between people causing it to go viral, sometimes before actual news corporations can release the true story. One example of this is the #YoutubeIsOverParty that took over Twitter. This issue involved popular people’s videos e.g. Phillip DeFranco, getting demonetised (age-restricted) due to the videos being ‘non-user friendly’, this also meant that these creators don’t get money for the video. This story became so big due to YouTube failing to mention/warn people that they would be starting to get stricter with enforcing their policies that some people didn’t even know excised before this. A lot of the largest youtubers talked about this subject, again making it seem worse than it was, stating that YouTube is going to start deleting people’s channels. This only caused an outbreak over social media from the millions of subscribers exaggerating the issue. YouTube has since remonetised these videos and the hype disappeared. This shows the extent of how fast news can spread and be taken out of context when using things such as social media.

In conclusion, reflecting back on my own news consumption I can see that most of the information I gain is through social media, and I believe that in this society that is the norm. After asking my classmates about their news consumption habits I can see that that a lot of them share my way of receiving information. I think this is due to our similar ages and being in the same generation, taken over by smart phones and social media. However, I also asked some of the older generation e.g. parents. I found out that they hear their news mostly through TV and radio, usually the BBC, this shows the differences between the generations.