First let me say that I love your Harry Potter references. That Rita Skeeter... What a nut!
This is a really creative chart; I enjoyed your use of photographs to show the development of the newspaper from its inclusion of news, advertisements, comics, games and death notices to the way it has been delivered (in grade school I dreamt of being a both a farmer and a paper girl).
I am curious to learn what you think about how the internet and the 24-hour news stations have impacted the newspaper. How has the newspaper's audience changed and how do you think the newspaper has (or will continue to (or should)) shift to meet this changing audience?
Obviously those are questions that are asked often and that all newspapers are already (desperately) looking for answers to; but what does your own experience lead you to believe about the newspaper in 2011?
So, Paperboy: most awesome video game ever. I fondly remember begging my mother for it by arguing that it would be professional development.
It's always a little crushing to realize that media often exist just to perpetuate themselves and make money, and once you make this realization, its hard to view a particular medium the same way again. Thanks for opening old wounds, Anne. ;-)
While I dig the layout and examples, I am a little unclear what the timeline is doing. Any hints for a benighted (and bedazzled) reader?
Farmer and papergirl? Wow. I hope you're not still wanting to be a papergirl. I was one, once, and it was probably one of the top 3 worst jobs I've ever had (and I've had a lot of jobs).
I think that the newspapers will survive, but not in their current form or numbers. Those who survive will find a way for their content to reach their desired consumers, but not as a physical paper. I think it was a Pew study that showed that the oldest generations prefer the paper, the middle prefer network news, and the younger prefer internet news. Bummer.
@Adam-
Why yes, the lines mean something. Two things, actually (and thanks for asking). First, they are meant to signify the passing of time. The different length of the lines, like a ruler, reference different periods of time (monthly, weekly, and daily) which are also the publication dates for various different periodicals. There are such things as weekly newspapers (The Onion is among them) and monthly papers.
Second, the circle (which got cut off when I scanned the page!) was to show the current time and how the newspaper does not report on the current state of things, but rather what happened before the paper was published. The paper also tells us what is coming in the future - events, announcements, etc - but not what is happening in real time in the moment, which to tie to Ingrid's question, means that it cannot exist as internet news sources can because, unlike The Daily Prophet, it cannot change content once it has been printed.
It's interesting that you addressed the issue of a medium "selling" its content in your diagram.
Recent transplants to Wisconsin often remark how much of the news content is dominated by sports coverage. As a life-long Wisconsinite, I'm used to this practice, but that's not the norm everywhere. Clearly, sports is what sells here, so that popularity is what determines a newscast's content, despite the fact that other "real issues" of civic importance may receive only the briefest of mentions on the broadcast.
I'm looking forward to discussing this more during the semester.
4 comments:
Hi Anna!
First let me say that I love your Harry Potter references. That Rita Skeeter... What a nut!
This is a really creative chart; I enjoyed your use of photographs to show the development of the newspaper from its inclusion of news, advertisements, comics, games and death notices to the way it has been delivered (in grade school I dreamt of being a both a farmer and a paper girl).
I am curious to learn what you think about how the internet and the 24-hour news stations have impacted the newspaper. How has the newspaper's audience changed and how do you think the newspaper has (or will continue to (or should)) shift to meet this changing audience?
Obviously those are questions that are asked often and that all newspapers are already (desperately) looking for answers to; but what does your own experience lead you to believe about the newspaper in 2011?
So, Paperboy: most awesome video game ever. I fondly remember begging my mother for it by arguing that it would be professional development.
It's always a little crushing to realize that media often exist just to perpetuate themselves and make money, and once you make this realization, its hard to view a particular medium the same way again. Thanks for opening old wounds, Anne. ;-)
While I dig the layout and examples, I am a little unclear what the timeline is doing. Any hints for a benighted (and bedazzled) reader?
@Ingrid-
Farmer and papergirl? Wow. I hope you're not still wanting to be a papergirl. I was one, once, and it was probably one of the top 3 worst jobs I've ever had (and I've had a lot of jobs).
I think that the newspapers will survive, but not in their current form or numbers. Those who survive will find a way for their content to reach their desired consumers, but not as a physical paper. I think it was a Pew study that showed that the oldest generations prefer the paper, the middle prefer network news, and the younger prefer internet news. Bummer.
@Adam-
Why yes, the lines mean something. Two things, actually (and thanks for asking). First, they are meant to signify the passing of time. The different length of the lines, like a ruler, reference different periods of time (monthly, weekly, and daily) which are also the publication dates for various different periodicals. There are such things as weekly newspapers (The Onion is among them) and monthly papers.
Second, the circle (which got cut off when I scanned the page!) was to show the current time and how the newspaper does not report on the current state of things, but rather what happened before the paper was published. The paper also tells us what is coming in the future - events, announcements, etc - but not what is happening in real time in the moment, which to tie to Ingrid's question, means that it cannot exist as internet news sources can because, unlike The Daily Prophet, it cannot change content once it has been printed.
Whew.
Anna/e C.
Hi Anna,
It's interesting that you addressed the issue of a medium "selling" its content in your diagram.
Recent transplants to Wisconsin often remark how much of the news content is dominated by sports coverage. As a life-long Wisconsinite, I'm used to this practice, but that's not the norm everywhere. Clearly, sports is what sells here, so that popularity is what determines a newscast's content, despite the fact that other "real issues" of civic importance may receive only the briefest of mentions on the broadcast.
I'm looking forward to discussing this more during the semester.
Post a Comment