We are in the age of ubiquitous and instantaneous worldwide communications. There is no "news-cycle" any longer. "Inky Wretches" and "Camera-Hogs" had better adjust, and damn quickly. Also, the "ethics" and "protocols" of 'news-gathering' is in flux.
SPECULATION is soon to be the 'coin-of-the-realm', replacing "reporting" what has already happened. And those organs of the "news" that establish a record of being correct in their speculations, the most often, will be rewarded.
Such an enviroment will condition listeners/viewers/readers to not accept, and act upon, "news reports" until they can be verified.
BRAVE NEW WORLD? Not really.
Speculation and Propaganda have been a sub-culture of the media since Gutenberg. The coming change is but a reversal of percentages. "Reporting what has ALREADY happened" will soon be the sub-culture.
Hopefully, the silver lining of this "revolution" will be that Corporations and Governments will have much less control/influence over what the public knows and when they know it. But I am not getting my hopes up too high, for they are very smart and in the end, in the prophetic words of Tom Petty, "you believe what you wanna believe".
But Tom Petty also said "you don't have to live like a refugee".
And he was right!
stephenhsmith 17May2006
