You might be interested in a book I’ll be sharing with my news-addicted eldest homeschooled-to-college son, Losing the News: The Future of the News That Feeds Democracy by Alex Jones. My son, who is currently majoring in Latin American studies, gets much of his news from the online sites of major news organizations, with many forays into original sources. He’s scrupulous about using multiple media sites so he can consider varying viewpoints, and having been homeschooled in a news-oriented family, he’s well aware of the varying legitimacy of different sources. There is nothing like looking at international reporting of foreign affairs to make this point clear at the college level.

I find many homeschoolers are voracious news consumers, though as with any population, some individuals routinely expose themselves only to sources that reinforce existing viewpoints, missing opportunities to challenge themselves and fact-check their favorite reporters and bloggers. Losing the News, among other things, may provide a look at how that the effects of that tendency may be magnified as the “new media” come to dominate “the news.”

From the Oxford University Press description:

Jones explores how the epochal changes sweeping the media have eroded the core news that has been the essential food supply of our democracy. At a time of dazzling technological innovation, Jones says that what stands to be lost is the fact-based reporting that serves as a watchdog over government, holds the powerful accountable, and gives citizens what they need. In a tumultuous new media era, with cutthroat competition and panic over profits, the commitment of the traditional news media to serious news is fading. Should we lose a critical mass of this news, our democracy will weaken–and possibly even begin to fail. (Read more at Oxford University Press).

Looks like a great book to add to any study of the impact of the Fourth Estate. Or, to read because you’re a writer, editor or publisher trying to figure out how technology is affecting your trade.  

Or, just to read because you are a homeschooler as seriously wonky about The News as I am.

Tags: Alex Jones, Books, democracy, Fourth Estate, journalism, Losing the News, media, new media, Oxford University Press, politics, reporting, selective exposure, viewpoints, watchdog

This entry was posted on August 19, 2009 at 2:45 pm and is filed under Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.