News and the Media

The use of media is seen in every facet of life now. With documentaries, movies, television shows, social networking and simple communication we have become dependent on updates to our phones or reminder pop-ups on our computers. Watching Chronicle on channel 5 the other night, I was mesmerized by the way we are learning now, I learned more in the 30 minute show about “What’s new in Boston” than in my 5 years living downtown Boston. The show serves as an educational tool for viewers. The news from our local areas is now updated every 15-30 seconds online, with breaking stories, video postings, tweeting and live broadcast; you can never miss a beat of what is going on out in the world even if you are at a desk or behind a computer for the majority of the day.

I remember only watching the news at 5 and 6 o’clock when I got home from school before dinner time, now I receive updates on my phone, have a news app, and can be online for 5 minutes and be caught up on the days stories, crime reports, scandals and gossip; and hour later things have already changed. The world outside is non-stop and now so is media sources that have become conveniently at our fingertips with the click of a mouse or a touch on our phones.




With newspapers being an “outdated” source of receiving the news, most papers like the Boston Globe, NY Times and Herald now have full websites where their readers can be caught up without reading a large, oversized black and white book. Will newspapers be replaced by apps and websites? For right now people are more caught up and involved in everyday news, stories and reports about their own areas, state, country and world than ever before because of the media advances and the convenience, availability and being able to avoid paying the $0.75 to read a paper when you can jump online and be caught up by reading the headline stories on the first page. The design of most websites are great too, because the top stories and important messages are flashing in front of your face as other news is presented in videos along with other story headlines are strolling through in the news ticker. It is a consistent flashing of news that consists of the most notable stories of the day, week, and month. These convenient ways have allowed my generation to become more knowledgeable and up to date with current events, even in areas of politics, where most 20 to 25 year olds have no interest in.

These media advances and convenient ways to get caught up on everyday news has really made newspapers an outdated source of receiving news because technology has surpassed the black and white text.