The featured video is a thought-piece on the importance of both types of news and commentary in Australia — mainstream and social. The video has been developed by Lee Hopkins, CEO of Better Communication Results:
News and commentary, no matter how they arrive, are how we make sense of our world.
Whether it’s delivered by traditional, mainstream media with its various biases and constraints, or delivered through social networking channels either off or online, news and commentary are the bricks and mortar we use to build our version of the world.
We do this in several ways:
- We take information from the various input channels and *converge around* the particular *symbols* that resonate with us;
- We *identify* with others who seem to share the same values as us and this in turn helps us work through what our own values are and what we stand for — and won’t stand for;
- We take a *historical perspective* to see how our values and our views have changed as a result of prior events;
- Based in part on the reactions of others, we determine for ourselves the *plausibility* of actions and the reasoning behind those actions, especially when those actions are carried out by governments or big business; and finally
- We determine our *actions* partly on the actions of others and partly on our values.
All of these steps are dependent upon a healthy media landscape which intermingles seamlessly with our lives.
So the future of our media landscape depends on the various players figuring out what it is that they do best and how best they can contribute to society.
I have faith that here in Australia we have enough forward-thinking individuals to bring us into a global leadership position within the digital environment.
