What I've learned about my own media usage is that there are always a way for media companies to reach a target audience on the web. This is normally worked out through website companies selling advert spaces to media companies perhaps advertising an article and using click bait in order for people to click on and read more. Typically, i find my news on here. Whether it be scrolling through Facebook or any other social media app, i always find pop ups to other websites to view their article. whether it be Unilad or Buzzfeed, Many of these titles consist of "10 weird Facts about Jennifer Lawrence (You won't believe number 10!)" The title captures the reader's attention and they get curious and so therefore scan through aimless information about Jennifer Lawrence in order to find if the 10th fact was really as important as the article said it is. By this time, they've read through the whole article and have therefore given the publisher the satisfaction of the click and also the views. It is common normally at the end of these articles that there will be a large sentence, normally a little larger than the article text that says "Share this with your friends to see what they think!"
Media typically find their target audience through cookies on the internet. With the increasing verge of Media 3.0 becoming more popular, it means that the internet is getting smarter in the sense that it is now learning about you. Although some people could argue this is an invasion of privacy, The web recommends interesting articles based on your taste
Normally when a publisher publishes an article truly absurd, they get a wide audience due to how a reader may feel towards a sensitive subject, that then urges them to share the article to their friends stating how "terrible" a situation is and so starts a chain of outraged people.
Occasionally, i search for news articles on Google when i have heard about a foreign situation by another person verbally and so i therefore search the subject in order to learn more information about a subject. An example of this would be when the tube bombings went off in London a week or so ago. Normally topics that cause hysteric and panic and directly can effect me are the stories i willingly search up and read about.
Most often, the publishers that inform the public about information and are the most prestigious are the BBC, The Daily Mirror and The Guardian. The Guardian and The Daily Mirror being two of the most read publishers online. These media companies can almost be seen to have a duty to report factual news. It has been told that it is important for the BBC to report 2 sides of a story in order to not be bias as they are funded by UK tax payers
You show a good understanding of the role of larger media companies and the prevalence of clickbait '10 facts about...' style reporting. Also, you clearly understand how the internet is working out what you like - what can we see as the issue with this? Do we end up just seeing the news we want to see and not have our views challenged or find out about other stories?
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that you seem to filter between trustworthy news sources and entertainment-style social media which is perhaps what more people need to be able to do.
Lastly, do you feel that sites such as Google or Facebook should be held responsible for the content that they have on their sites rather than claiming it is just the user's responsibility? Could they do more to provide us with better news as they clearly benefit from the internet traffic and site hits?