We spend time learning WHAT media workers do, but it's just as important to think about HOW they do it and WHY they do it. Let's get some ideas percolating about what we see and how it affects us. I call it "Sunrise on Media" because I often arrive at work obscenely early and will update this blog then.
Check out this focus group on TV news in Kansas City. Be sure to double-click each image to watch the video of the viewers. Their responses astounded the reporters and editors who watched.
Posted by
Katy Culver
at
4:25 PM
Labels: ethics roundup
5 comments:
I think it's fascinating that with mass media moving towards faster and shinier technologies, we're leaving our audience behind, at least in hard news. Maybe the news should slow its progress down a bit, and pay attention to how its alienating the very force that keeps it in business.
This focus group really demonstrates how much journalists and hard news media have come to underestimate their audience in the last few decades. These people are represent all kinds of regular viewers and they are looking for more than the LCD.
The focus group's responses did not seem too surprising to me, but I am curious to see how news stations will use this information to improve their broadcasts and coverage. Many of the individuals in the focus group said they wanted less "chit-chat" and "twittering" and more informative stories. At the same time, I'm sure there are just as many people willing to say that those features in the news keep them watching. Whose opinion will take precedence?
i agree with the focus group when they said if the stories were longer they would want to watch them. i think that is where 20/20 and shows like that come in, if you go really in depth in one or two stories for your entire segment it can really draw people in, and i know for me personally, it is far more interesting and worth my time if i have i have all of those facts and half an hour worth of information.
The people in the focus group were discussing how they want the straight hard facts without any bias and how some people have stopped reading things because they think it has bias, i wish they would have given an example of something they think is totally unbiased because i would have liked to know
thank you for showing us this focus group story because i really wanted an example of a focus group interview and now we have one :)
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