Blame the Boomers
As reports come along regularly documenting the decline of mass media consumption and especially mainstream news reporting, there are plenty of opinions about the why and how of these developments.
One popular meme is that alternative media are drawing away the audience. Maybe ... but not so many that it explains the staggering losses the dinosaur media are experiencing.
Many seem to hold the opinion that the ever declining quality of reporting is to blame.
Well .... sure it has something to do with the demise of the old media.
Many conservative bloggers and commenters have the POV that the mainstream media or MSM is willfully committing economic suicide because of a blind commitment to 'progressive' populism and a misguided sense of self importance.
The theory holds that large numbers of their audience are just plain sick and tired of the blatant pandering to the freakshow aspects of society and the evident contempt for anyone conservative enough to even question the dogma of the new age liberalistas.
Sure ... but still not enough numbers to account for the losses of the MSMers.
Some folks even hold forth that there is a conspiracy amongst the cabal of MSMers to cary on with a cultural assault on our traditional mainstream society.
Well ... things like the 'Journolist' sure do help to contribute to those ideas. BUT still not enough backlash to account for the crumbling of the media sand castles.
Also, some postulate that since the MSMers don't seem to see the train coming at them as they plow through the tunnel vision world which they inhabit .... it is possible that an endgame strategy has been put in play where some form of government sanctioning and entitlement program will be needed (and provided) to ensure their sinecure for all time.
I think there is some truth to this ....... as I have no doubt that there are media types who are angling for government bailout and hope for ongoing subsidy. In Canada there is already precedent for this under the Canadian Culture and Content laws but there is certainly more.
Another aspect of the great decline in news media consumption is the demographics of an aging boomer pop. This decline is also pushed by the nature of any younger consumers.
These under 50 types are the product of the 'progressive' educational system changes of the last 40 years and one consequence of that is a great decline in the areas of world knowledge, history and most importantly ......... critical thinking skills.
The media high foreheads have been cynically hoping and trying to take advantage of this by the dumbing down of their product. This is the target demographic of today's mass media and those producers have NO respect for their audience.
They long ago wrote off the over 50 crowd who maintain any sense of balance and tradition and that could very well be reflected in the ongoing and blatant contempt displayed. This could also well be a part of the effort to win the hearts and minds of the younger generations. Sort of ... like look at us ... we hate the old folks too.
But .... the joke's on the would be arbiters of opinion ... because the people they are trying to create a bond with don't give a crap. The Under 50s are already preprogrammed to reject any attempts to preach or manipulate and the MSMers don't really know how to do anything BUT preach and manipulate in the most blatant manner.
The only folks they are still holding onto are the most hopelessly uncritical and uninformed and those too thick to figure out they are being gamed. Gradually even those will fade off........
Machiavellian plotters?
More Clouseauian demagogues!
So while the boomers have largely tuned out and those who would remain in the thrall of the MSM are fading away... the echo and bust bunch are not and never were going to be filling that gap.
But you can't blame them. After all the under 50s are just a product of the boomer indifference, self centered world view and general lack of moral foundation.
Either way the institutions that chose to stake their existence and future on the sands of boomer whims and self interest are well and truly screwed.
For this ... I feel a fair amount of schadenfreude.
OMMAG
Labels: Consequenses, The MSM are idiots
posted by OMMAG at 6:39 p.m.
2 Comments:
Anyone under 50 who wants news gets it online. I wouldn't buy a copy of the free press even if I ended up with an extra dollar in my pocket after the transaction somehow. They jacked up the price in my life time from 25 cents to a dollar, thanks to the rise in the price of newsprint and other costs, and yet cut back what they actually put in a newspaper. Don't blame Generation X and younger for recognizing they're getting screwed in the deal. Look at a newspaper from even the early 80's and you'll see intelligent meaningful reporting. Look at it now, same old thing every day. Nothing of substance. This was happening before the internet even came in to prominence. Nevermind the fact that younger people have felt barred from becoming part of the discourse thanks to the entrenched employees.
As the popularity of tablet computers increases, we'll probably see digital magazines and newspapers produced at reasonable rates take off. Perhaps not with the ipad, but certainly once the google android based web pads come out early this fall. It might even lead to a resurgence in newspapers, if the current ones don't adapt, new ones will rise up to take advantage. We're on the cusp of a sea change and as usual the old guard is slow to adapt or die and thrashes about like a fish in a net trying to bite anything it comes into contact with out of fear.
Right you are Reed ........
I don't see a great deal of interest in actual learning from those more recent gens either.
True that those who ant info tend to go to the web for it.
But that number is not in the incline.
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