Media Meditation 4: Electronic New York Times

Due to the Internet and other media newspapers are becoming more and more obscure. However, the Internet can also be a tool used to benefit newspapers when used to deliver the content in an electronic version to its viewer’s e-mails. This is how I started reading the New York Times. I needed a way to get the paper and found it easiest to have it sent directly to my computer. This way I didn’t have to go out and buy it, and even if it was sent directly to my apartment it would still be a hassle to carry it around with me when I could just have it on my computer. Having it on my laptop is easiest because it is already a tool that I use everyday, so it is incorporated into my daily activities. The electronic version of the New York Times is also easier for me to read. This is because I am able to scroll down the page and skim the headlines along with the first few sentences of the stories below their headlines. If I am interested in the article I can click on its headline to get the full article, or move on to the next story. Having the headlines with the first few sentences under them also allows me to understand the main points of the story without having to read the entire thing. Postman may point out how the electronic newspaper is changing the way I take in the information, which is true. Now I don’t need to read through the entire stories and my attention span doesn’t need to be as long. He may also say that by reading the New York Times I am exposed to information that it ultimately meaningless to me because it isn’t local, and therefore I am not able to do anything about the issues, or news that are being reported. This makes the news a form of entertainment as it ends up being simply something to talk about.

Tribune Brain: The electronic newspaper mostly engages the Neocortex part of the brain. There usually isn’t any visuals or sound, which are strong tools used to involve the Limbic brain. Readers use their Neocortex to process and understand the information. When thinking about the electronic newspaper one should consider the Internet and paper newspaper. The Internet engages both the Neocortex with the information it provides, which must be processed by individuals and the Limbic brain through the images and film it provides. Newspapers also engage both the Neocortex through conveying information with words, and the Limbic brain by using images and descriptive words. Overall the electronic newspaper engages mostly the Neocortex, but because it is on the Internet it has the ability to involve the Limbic brain through links to images and videos.

7 Principles…

Reality Construction: Whether it is electronic or on paper the newspaper has the ability to engage in reality construction. They can do this from the material that they put in the paper as well as from the advertisements it shows. Because newspapers depend heavily on advertisers they must direct their papers to people who have the money to buy the products that are being advertised. This affects the content included in the newspaper as editors ensure that it is interesting to their target audience. This forms a certain reality for the readers as the information they are given coincides with their points of views.

Ownership: Most newspapers are part of conglomerations where the smaller/local newspapers are owned by the big newspapers. For example the New York Times is owned by the New York Times Company and publishes 18 other newspapers including International Herald Tribune and The Boston Globe.

8 Trends…

Technological shift: The electronic version of the New York Times is a primes example of technological shift. It is not only on paper, but also on the Internet as well. Shifting to the Internet has made reading the New York Times easier for many people because it takes little effort for them to access it since many are already using the Internet through out their days. M.T. Anderson would say that the only problem is sometimes technology doesn’t always work. In this case if the Internet wasn’t working then people who get the New York Times e-mailed to them would not be able to access it.

Economic Shift: Newspapers are also experiencing an economic shift. Corporate consolidation is taking place due to larger newspapers buying the smaller local newspaper. This is true with the New York Times as it publishes 18 other smaller newspapers.

Discursive Shift: All newspapers claim that their stories are objective and simply state the facts, but this doesn’t always happen. Journalists view the event/issue and its facts, which construct the article from their points of views. Because of this the stories are slightly subjective.

Cultural Shift: Electronic newspapers also allow their readers to comment on the articles for other people to read. This means that anyone who reads the article is able to see all of the comments that the other people have written. This is shown with the top story in today’s New York Times with a comment section that has 777 posts that anyone can see.




Persuasive Techniques…

Flattery: Newspapers in general persuade people through using flattery, claiming that they care about their readers and want to bring them stories that they think they should know about. The Media Society Book may say that at times this isn’t always the case and that many newspapers along with other media bring people information that they want to know and not what they should know.

Hyperbole: Hyperbole is a major persuasive tool used in Newspapers. Most people say that writers have only the first sentence and sometimes just the heading of their article to catch their reader’s attention. If they are not able to do that then the reading moves on to the next article or newspaper. Because of this they must has headlines and sentences that are exaggerated to catch their reader’s attention. In today’s New York Times the headlines of the top stories are, “Fearing Obama Agenda, States Push to Loosen Gun Laws,” and “On Eve of Health Meeting, Big Questions Still Linger.” The words “fearing,” “big,” and “linger” are all exaggerated words to catch people’s attention

Testimonial: Almost every article in newspapers has direct quotes from people to support the content and main message of the article, which can also be seen as testimonial. The New York Times includes a quote from Wayne LaPierre, the chief executive of the National Rifle Association in the article about pushing to loosen gun laws.