Citizen journalism, blogs and forums are increasingly popular as powerful and competing alternative resources to the mainstream media. This has led to a burgeoning discussion about the state of the industry and particularly the quality and relevance of newspaper journalism. Mike Farrier shares his views on the ailing condition of the UK media and the development of what he describes as ‘lazy journalism’.
Piers Morgan, former editor of the Daily Mirror and proprietor of trade journal Press Gazette, says: “Will some newspapers eventually close? Probably. Will journalism continue to thrive? Certainly. Who will emerge as the dominant players? Nobody, least of all me, can possibly guess.
My problem with the media at present is that the only people journalists and broadcasters listen to is themselves. They are up their own behinds with self importance, under the impression that they represent the views of the public at large without ever having asked them if they give a monkey's. I've said it before and it's true, individuals don't change the newspapers they read because of its content one week or day to the other (one particular issue would have to contain something very personally offensive for this to happen). They buy the same newspaper every single day because they have been doing so for years .
Thousands of people buy the Daily Mirror and The Sun for the sport section and never read any of the stuff that goes before it because they know it's not worth wiping their arses with let alone reading. They like the sports reporting, nothing more. Many people buy another paper at the same time for reading the non-sports news, but these publications would have everyone believe that they're a pantheon of journalistic integrity, speaking for their readership when the only reason they sell anything in large numbers is simply human apathy in action. People like and get comfortable in their habits and shrink from change. There are actually people who have palpitations when an unexpected supplement accompanies their daily rag! They run from it like scared little girls.
The growth of what I call ‘lazy journalism’ is another reason why newspapers are in decline. Some fleet street hacks don't have anything original to say so they merely do an Evening Standard style review of an article published elsewhere. They then attach far too much importance to it.
Whenever someone in the public eye (‘media eye’ is what the expression should be these days) speaks for themselves, intelligently or stupidly, doesn't matter which, someone in the press always gets up on their high horse and criticises them for it, taking what they’ve said out of context or worse yet, express worries that the public are going to run out into the streets and do something silly or criminal.
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