Human beings live in an information age where whatever that is produced is more than the capacity to consume. The information age has enabled individuals to not only access but also control information, two characteristics that have gone on to define human civilization (Webster, 2014). The author notes that prior to the digital age, there was limited information and publishing was critically restricted. The information age has profound effects on the production of news especially in three critical areas including accessibility, transparency, and democratization. With the reduction in news production due to the associated high costs, the increased use of the internet has ensured that news supply remains unchanged. For the news outlets to stay relevant in the wake of the increased news production, they must ask themselves critical questions. For instance, the author states that the media houses must understand how people process information and how the media saturation has affected news production.
The author says, "To win the war for our attention, news organizations must make themselves indispensable by producing journalism that helps make sense of the flood of information that inundates us all." The media is always in a dilemma to balance between creating revenue and producing mindful content that meets the demands of the people (Happer & Philo, 2013). A healthy news media, as the author notes, will only come as a result of the media outlet’s ability to filter and interpret information. Furthermore, responsible and ethical journalism should always be the main focus for these outlets. The dispensation of news should at all times be guided by the principals of nonpartisanship, objectivity, and a lack of bias (Patterson, Wilkins, & Painter, 2018). According to the author, divided attention or a lack of focus has also had an impact on how well news is received and consumed amongst the people. In this regards, he asserts that the acquisition of new information needs focused attention and the ability to avoid unnecessary distractions.
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References
Happer, C., & Philo, G. (2013). The role of the media in the construction of public belief and social change. Journal of social and political psychology , 1 (1), 321-336.
Patterson, P., Wilkins, L., & Painter, C. (2018). Media ethics: Issues and cases . Rowman & Littlefield.
Webster, F. (2014). Theories of the information society . Routledge.
