Adapting to Selfishness

Last week after speaking about the dangers of social networks and journalism, it was easy to see why it is feared. What was overlooked last week was highlighted in Dave Kindred’s, The Sports Beat. With this new era in sports journalism, a routine was created. Beat reporters, must now be on point every day when it comes to providing information to their followers; for example, a lineup card for the day’s baseball game. Sports journalists not only have the pressure of providing accurate information, but five minutes prior to the time their followers expect it.

“It is revolutionary – with reporting routines that never existed before becoming fixtures overnight” (Kindred 52). No longer is one story written about the sporting event. Reporters no longer sit and watch as they take notes and report on their type writers while smoking some of the biggest cigars ever seen. Journalists, whether they like it or not, are becoming beat reporters. The faster they are with information, the more readers they claim. They tweet what they see, they run to the computers and type the stories they “previewed” (as a demand from their readers), for an understanding regarding the tweet, and finally they return to the press box. As Malcolm Moran states in is story, It’s a Brand-New Ballgame, “Today’s sports beat reporting seems more about producing fragments of information than in shining a light on core issues of our time” (Moran).

Based off reports from both Dave Kindred and Malcolm Moran, sports journalism is not only adapting to this electronic-social way of life, but its difficulty is increasing. As Malcolm Moran reminds us, people are seeking information as the event is happening, not caring about accuracy. If the information is relevant to the story, readers are happy; until they find out what they read was wrong. Unfortunately this is not only happening in sports journalism, but in journalism as a whole. In one of the most recent events, Twitter was being blown up due to the shootings that took place at the Navy yard in Washington D.C. CNN for example, began the way they should. An explanation of what happened was given, and finished with “more information will be provided when more is received.” As the day went on, it was told that seven soldiers were harmed, then 9, then 12 until it was finally resolved that 13 total soldiers were not only harmed but killed. I must say, I kept on paying attention and watched as the totals kept on rising, but looking back at the time of the event, one tweet should have been made.

In the end, journalists must please their reader and their editors. IT is a new day ad age, and quicker seems to be better. I must say, this is a terrible theory, but it is now a new form of competition. There is not one specific person to blame, it may not even be the consumers fault. The readers are selfish, they want news quick; however, the journalists are the reason news is provided in this fashion. What came first? The chicken or the egg? This is not the fall of journalism, nor is it the future end of trust between journalists and their readers. We are human beings, and from the beginning of time we have adapted to every change in society. It may not be ethical, unfortunately, people seek what they want, and this is just a prime example of the selfishness of society.