"Naturalists fear overuse of birdcall apps" - The Seattle Times, Monday 16th May 2011; wanting to know more about the abuse of birdcall apps and why it ruffled the feathers of nudists, I continued reading. Having been in the rainy Washington state for the past few days, it was natural for me to be exposed to the rather interesting piece of local journalism.
After reading the article I've learnt plenty. For one, naturalists are not nudists. For another, there are applications out there available for download that make it possible for birdwatchers to take a picture of an elusive bird simply by playing a recording of a bird song from its own species. Who knew that by doing so male birds will feel threatened thinking there is another male bird encroaching his territory, elevating its testosterone, making it throw its little weight around with its female, and give cause to the female to engage in "extramarital" flings. I kid you not and the Seattle Times, winner of eight Pulitzer awards, reported it.
It may be that the story will interest only bird watchers, or the curious like me, but the article was published to present the facts, to allow the reader an uncluttered and unbiased view, so that he or she feels a vested interest in his or her surroundings.
Local media does not only report on the sex life of birds, they can do so much more. In the state of Illinois in the 1830s, Elijah Lovejoy wrote and published antislavery editorials in the Alton Observer and was murdered by a mob infuriated by his abolitionist views. Lovejoy's differing views from the public sentiment at the time obviously made an impact because when slavery was officially abolished in the United States by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, Illinois was the first state to ratify it.
It can't be denied that the print media, and especially newspapers, have a great influence on the subject and nature of a nations' debate. Not only does the print media inform us of subject matter that is important to us, it can very much set the tone of a debate.
It is also the enormous, and very often not easy, task of the media to try and report the news without fear of censure, and with integrity. There is no denying the correlation between a low corruption rate and a robust print media.
The thing with the local print media here in Washington, is the large number of titles, there is an abundance of view points and readerships, all the way from naturists to naturalists.
This is not to say that we at home are not subject to our own dearth of media. My television diet has been enriched by the (late) discovery of Al-Jazeera english news on the satellite. It is most refreshing to sometimes receive on the television a world view that you can be more sympathetic to. [Obviously, in this, I am talking about the news, and not Channel 613 Playhouse Disney, for when it comes to Disney, everyone is sympathetic no?]
We cannot also ignore the types of new media available on the internet, blogs, Twitter, the number of daily postings on Facebook. Don't forget, the large number of discussion forums on all types of topics that can be found. The ability for the new media to be able to quickly shape and change public opinion has been made clear from the start of this year. Might it be said that an advantage of user created media is that everyone is their own editor and publisher, making for a robust content.
What then for print media? Perhaps we have to have an understanding that the market place of ideas has grown, and we have to compete for the attentions of the paying public.
@emmagoodeg
Illustration by Cuboi Art.
For the edited online version with the wrong headline and that strange bird click here.
Dear Dana, Fortunately for the world, I am not a nudist :) Thanks though xx
Posted by: emmagoodegg | Monday, 06 June 2011 at 12:31 PM
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Posted by: dana | Wednesday, 25 May 2011 at 10:50 AM