Something a colleague said recently in a private discussion forum got me thinking about news and power. Specifically, how much do – and should – major mainstream news organizations define what’s really “news?”
On pondering that I came up with the following list of big thoughts…
- What is power? Knowledge is power, since it’s almost impossible to make anyone or anything do your bidding unless you understand the players, dynamics, and context. News is the delivery of those kinds of information. People use information to create knowledge, in order to gain more control over their world or live more effectively within their circumstances.
- News organizations do not define or own “the news.” In the real world, news comes from all sorts of sources, in all sorts of formats. But since knowledge is power, there’s a strong incentive for groups to claim control over “the news,” by defining it or owning it.
- Ultimately, the audience holds the power. The only group that REALLY defines what’s news is “people who consume news.” All others who try to claim this power are engaging in deception. However, often this deception is not conscious or deliberate – in fact, it’s usually well-intended, on a conscious level.
- All news is not necessarily journalism, although journalism is a very important component of the news universe.
- Mainstream media’s power base is shifting. Established, traditional news organizations have a strong influence on journalism, and this has been a source of power for news organizations. But in reality, they do not define or own journalism – and in fact their influence on journalism is waning thanks to the internet.
- No group that is in power surrenders power willingly. Nor will the powerful willingly acknowledge the increasing power (or even the existence) of its rivals unless forced to do so in order to maintain a position of relative power.
I’ll write more extensively about this when I have time. But for now, I thought I’d toss these ideas out there. I’d love to hear comments on them.
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