“With the arrival of electronic technology, man extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself,” wrote Marshall McLuhan in Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man.
Have we, with the advent of new forms of electronic gadgetry, fallen into a technological coma, neglecting, mistrusting, and even despising what physiatrist Carl Jung called “Man’s greatest instrument, his psyche”?
McLuhan warns that “we have to numb our central nervous system when it is extended and exposed, or we will die.”
Have social networking sites, texting, Twittering, and bogging bogged us down and, like Narcissus, caused us to fall in love by irresistibly gazing into our own static reflections?
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Tips from Thoreau and Wilde
I don’t use Facebook or MySpace or Twitter. I agree with Henry David Thoreau’s century and a half old assertion that most media deal with gossip. Like Blogs, these sites are primarily self-serving. As journalists we need to be aware of them. However, caveat emptor.
What follows are a few tips for writers courtesy of Henry David Thoreau:
"A writer who does not speak out of a full experience uses torpid words, wooden or lifeless words… which have a paralysis in their tails." (from the Journal July 14, 1852)
"Perfect sincerity and transparency make a great part of beauty, as in dewdrops, lakes, and diamonds." (from the Journal June 20, 1840)
"Say what you have to say, not what you ought. Any truth is better than make-believe."
(from the "Conclusion" to Walden)
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." (from the "Conclusion" to Walden)
Here’s what Oscar Wilde had to say about journalists and journalism:
“Bad manners make a journalist.”
“Journalists record only what happens. What does it matter what happens? It is only the abiding things that are interesting, not the horrid incidents of everyday life.”
“There is much to be said in favor of modern journalism. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community.”
“Spies are of no use nowadays…The newspapers do their work instead.”
What follows are a few tips for writers courtesy of Henry David Thoreau:
"A writer who does not speak out of a full experience uses torpid words, wooden or lifeless words… which have a paralysis in their tails." (from the Journal July 14, 1852)
"Perfect sincerity and transparency make a great part of beauty, as in dewdrops, lakes, and diamonds." (from the Journal June 20, 1840)
"Say what you have to say, not what you ought. Any truth is better than make-believe."
(from the "Conclusion" to Walden)
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." (from the "Conclusion" to Walden)
Here’s what Oscar Wilde had to say about journalists and journalism:
“Bad manners make a journalist.”
“Journalists record only what happens. What does it matter what happens? It is only the abiding things that are interesting, not the horrid incidents of everyday life.”
“There is much to be said in favor of modern journalism. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community.”
“Spies are of no use nowadays…The newspapers do their work instead.”
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Understanding Journalism
First there was Journalism. Then came New Journalism. Raging against New Journalism came Gonzo Journalism. With the Internet came Citizen Journalism. Now, journaism schools are advocating Convergence Journalism.
Why are all these adjectives prefacing the word Journalism? Each one reveals a different aspect and perspective of a profession that is radically altered by each change in technology.
In his book We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People Dan Gillmor contends that “the collision of journalism and technology is having major consequences for three constituencies: journalists, newsmakers, and the audience.”
He believes that “Blogs and other modern media are feedback systems. They work in something close to real time and capture—in the best sense of the word—the multitude of ideas and realities each of us can offer.”
While the Internet has transformed journalism and the media, it has also placed demands on its practitioners. A new form of journalism, dubbed Convergence Journalism, has been born. Now, editors expect journalists to be proficient in writing, Web layout, digital photography, and broadcasting.
“In short, the traditional lines separating newspapers, broadcast stations and Web sites are blurring at a rapid rate,” wrote Thom Lieb in All the News: Writing and Reporting for Convergent Media. “Media convergence—the blending of media—has become a fact of life in the 21st century, and journalism will never be the same.”
Even though we are all journalists, only the well equipped (i.e., those who are familiar with and comfortable using all media) will survive.
There is one caveat however. “The new media and technologies by which we can amplify and extend ourselves constitute huge collective surgery carried out on the social body with complete disregard for antiseptics,” wrote Marshall McLuhan in his 1964 classic Understanding Media. “If the operations are needed, the inevitability of infecting the whole system during the operation has to be considered."
Why are all these adjectives prefacing the word Journalism? Each one reveals a different aspect and perspective of a profession that is radically altered by each change in technology.
In his book We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People Dan Gillmor contends that “the collision of journalism and technology is having major consequences for three constituencies: journalists, newsmakers, and the audience.”
He believes that “Blogs and other modern media are feedback systems. They work in something close to real time and capture—in the best sense of the word—the multitude of ideas and realities each of us can offer.”
While the Internet has transformed journalism and the media, it has also placed demands on its practitioners. A new form of journalism, dubbed Convergence Journalism, has been born. Now, editors expect journalists to be proficient in writing, Web layout, digital photography, and broadcasting.
“In short, the traditional lines separating newspapers, broadcast stations and Web sites are blurring at a rapid rate,” wrote Thom Lieb in All the News: Writing and Reporting for Convergent Media. “Media convergence—the blending of media—has become a fact of life in the 21st century, and journalism will never be the same.”
Even though we are all journalists, only the well equipped (i.e., those who are familiar with and comfortable using all media) will survive.
There is one caveat however. “The new media and technologies by which we can amplify and extend ourselves constitute huge collective surgery carried out on the social body with complete disregard for antiseptics,” wrote Marshall McLuhan in his 1964 classic Understanding Media. “If the operations are needed, the inevitability of infecting the whole system during the operation has to be considered."
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Journalism is not at a Dead-end
However, there are two considerations that need to be kept in mind.
First, new technologies don’t necessarily replace media that have been around for a while. Older media might adapt, become more technologically sophisticated, change content, and possibly shrink in size and importance. However, even though there is more fanfare and embellishments with newer media, all media will peacefully coexist.
Second, journalists must be adaptable to the changes in media, particularly the changes that media manufacture. “All media are active metaphors in their power to translate experience into new forms,” wrote Marshall McLuhan in his groundbreaking work Understanding Media.
Once we as journalists understand the above quote, we will be able to navigate around and even confidently control the media that is translating our lives today and, more importantly, tomorrow.
To understand metaphors, all that’s needed is a thorough reading of Sylvia Plath’s wonderfully illustrative poem "Metaphors."
First, new technologies don’t necessarily replace media that have been around for a while. Older media might adapt, become more technologically sophisticated, change content, and possibly shrink in size and importance. However, even though there is more fanfare and embellishments with newer media, all media will peacefully coexist.
Second, journalists must be adaptable to the changes in media, particularly the changes that media manufacture. “All media are active metaphors in their power to translate experience into new forms,” wrote Marshall McLuhan in his groundbreaking work Understanding Media.
Once we as journalists understand the above quote, we will be able to navigate around and even confidently control the media that is translating our lives today and, more importantly, tomorrow.
To understand metaphors, all that’s needed is a thorough reading of Sylvia Plath’s wonderfully illustrative poem "Metaphors."
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