News, Public Affairs, and the Public Sphere in a Digital Nation by Simpson Edgar;

Author:Simpson, Edgar;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1767759
Publisher: Lexington Books

The results become more contradictory when the comments associated with the questionnaire are examined. Many mentioned social media as the future of journalism and public communication. Yet, there was an evident reluctance to engage. Wrote one respondent, a twenty-six-year-old female who volunteered as a communications professional for a Geauga County school organization: “Democratization is not necessarily a good thing. For example, Facebook ‘likes’ and shares will determine what is seen as important. Entertainment is valued more than education about the real problems and issues in the world.” A 45-year-old businesswoman who describes herself as a community volunteer in Geauga County believes social media will rule as well but worries about their impact: “I believe the future of journalism will be more of the social media type, immediate responses and information, which also calls to question fact checking and research — if it is fast can it be fact or is it the best information at that moment whether it is true or not. That is scary.”

It is likely the opinion leaders are expressing an element of their own poor experience trying to consume news on social media, especially Facebook, by stressing both the importance of their own communication as well as a desire, though tepid, for a strong traditional journalism. Though social media, as found in this study, has yet to significantly engage issues in Wood and Geauga counties, many of the respondents are undoubtedly exposed to what is coming out of nearby metro markets, and they may be uncomfortable with a purely audience-driven information landscape. Part of that may be the extraordinary ugliness associated with some of the comment streams.

These streams are most often associated with the numerous crime reports put out by the commercial stations. For instance, Lisa Rantala, the main law enforcement reporter for WTOL in Toledo, posted the mug shot of an African-American man arrested after a shooting at a Super Bowl Party. The man was out on bond from another suspected shooting at the time he was arrested. Rantala posted this update to the station’s Facebook account: “Remember Tremayne Griffin? Police arrested him Friday. Accusing him of shooting three people at a superbowl party. It was two days after he posted a $100,000 bond for another shooting. Now the judge who issued that bond wants to see Griffin today face to face. What words would you have for Griffin?”64 The post, with no accompanying link to a story, launched a string of fifty-three comments. Including this exchange:

Danie Holmes: I have no idea how this guy is. But I have seen many like him and I have seen what it can do to a family, a neighborhood and city. There seems to be no escaping this newly emerged dangerous generation …

Craig Singer: Fools like that give a bad name for an entire race no wonder people are prejudice.

Michael Allen: I just cannot get over how big them lips are.

Craig Singer: Big lipped beast is what he is and should be treated as such.

Jerry Hicks: From what

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