Accountability On A Whole New Level

Remember the dentist that killed Cecil the Lion? Ever wonder what kind of impact that had on his business?  Public shaming is a new measure of accountability - you better believe that if you post something on the Internet that you wish for only a few people to see - that it will be world news by midnight. If you ever read the comments section under an article or below a YouTube video there is far more negative feedback than positive - and negative in such a way that is extremely harsh, judgmental, and even downright racist. Who knew so many people could find it in themselves to be so cruel behind their computer screen? People make mistakes and become famous for them these days. It's a relentless accountability measure that comes with social media. Public shaming is ever more prevalent today and is causing serious repercussions from its victims. A lot of victims from public shaming have lost their jobs and have even had to move away! Could the fear of public shaming deter poor decisions?

For more examples on public shaming, follow the link:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/16/living/feat-public-shaming-ronson/

The Devolution of Journalism in America

As technology prevails around the world, time is barely able to slow down enough for people to consider what kind of impact technology is actually having on our societies. Is it good or is it bad? Is it a little bit of both? I've discussed how social media has helped societies become more aware of incidents around the world and it is evident that in the wake of disaster that social media becomes a platform for togetherness - like when we all changed our Facebook photos to show the French flag in support after their recent attack. Technology has allowed a massive free flow of opinions to enter the minds of every person exposed to the Internet - but do some people have the ability to filter those opinions and see through those expressing them? Do most people have that ability? I believe strong boisterous opinions have led to a massive partisan divide in our country - likely the biggest it's been since the Civil War. Democrats and Republicans have become two separate ideologies so completely opposite from one another it's quite literally the worst marriage in history. How much longer can our government function with all of the negative rhetoric they throw at one another? They deliberately disagree just to disagree! The role of the media in this case is crucial - they are our informants - they are [supposed] to be equipped with facts and relay it in layman's terms so that the public can be informed - but rather they use their platform to further spark debate and disagreement without any real evidence to support it. It has gotten worse since the demand for immediate information began shortly after the social media platform became so popular. A journalist's job is no longer to seek information in the field but rather keep up with the constant flow of information coming in and then quickly selecting which story will gain them the most attention. This is a problem that is not evident to most people, particularly in America. To get true facts, it takes a lot of digging and research - but the American people don't have time to wait for someone to dig and research things and then report it days later. When an event occurs, everyone finds out about it instantaneously and it thus warrants immediate speculation and interpretation. This is a fundamentally new phenomenon whose effects are not yet evident to society; however, in studying this shift in journalism with the onset of technology - it needs to be at the forefront of issues. How can journalism evolve into relaying expedient information while also taking the time to report on factual information obtained through verifiable research? It kinda sounds like the old way journalism used to function. How can viewers demand anything from media outlets?