The Media: Citizen Kane (1941)

As technology changes, as do conventions in society. While at one time in human history news traveled with the migration of actual peoples, now information is streamed globally in seconds. The world we currently live in is far different from the one portrayed in the 1941 film,Citizen Kane.Jerry Thompson, the journalist in the film, attempts to uncover the past of Charles Foster Kane to elaborate on his death. Thompson quickly finds that Kane used false statements in the media to advance his career as a politician. He was actively involved in corruption and Thompson most strenuously uncover his story piece by piece as a traditional journalist.
With recent advents in social media, information can be posted about anything by anyone. Prominent figures and organizations can voice their opinions about topics. Information is compact, easily accessible, and meant to be read, watched, and listened to on the run. However, with so many outputs of information, how can people determine what to trust. InCitizen Kane,Thompson must hunt for information and it is not quickly presented to the masses.
In the article,“Wood Pulp and Newspapers (1964), by David Smith, the author examines the evolution of newspapers from using rags to utilizing wood pulp for printing newspapers. This is similar to the process of information going virtual and internet based. With recent advancements in mobile phones, information seekers can download apps or browse the web wherever they are to take in information. Today, anyone with thoughts and an internet connection can be a journalist!
In “The Public’s Use and the Perception of Newspapers (1984)”,by Leo Bogart, the author examines the relationship between newspapers and television. He finds that though equally utilized, newspapers seem to carry more credibility. Opinion pieces are clearly labeled and understood as opinions. Very little bias exists, while television is heavily designed for entertainment and flooded with opinions. Though reading the newspaper is becoming an ancient practice, it isn’t because of television, it’s because of the internet and that’s an adaptation not an abandonment of newspapers.
The role of the internet is examined in the article, “Democracy in the Information Age: The Role of the Fourth Estate in Cyberspace (2001),” by Howard Tumber. Tumber claims that individuals are more interested in entertainment, causing news broadcasting to provide citizens with entertaining content rather than informative content.
The positive role of the internet and blogging is that it widens the margins of information available. The only issue is that often people are too ignorant to realize whats reliable information and whats not. For example, someone could stumble upon this blog about politics and film, but how much credit am I really due? It provides the possibility of making all types of information available, it can be great and convenient but sometimes actually does harm when the information is inaccurate or biased.