http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2007/09/younews/ The latest Technology news and blog posts from ABC News contributors and bloggers. Fri, 24 May 2013 21:27:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2007/09/younews/#comment-12393 Andy Tue, 18 Sep 2007 18:06:55 +0000 http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2007/09/younews/#comment-12393 Just goes to show you that one man's news is another's cure for insomnia. I think the important thing is that we do have an incredible amount of news to pick from. There's enough out there for everyone's tastes, intellectual or pedestrian. Just goes to show you that one man’s news is another’s cure for insomnia. I think the important thing is that we do have an incredible amount of news to pick from. There’s enough out there for everyone’s tastes, intellectual or pedestrian.

]]> http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2007/09/younews/#comment-12392 chuck Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:57:25 +0000 http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2007/09/younews/#comment-12392 I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with one of the premises of today's blog, which is that news the end-user wants can come to him or her unfiltered. I'd prefer to say that the consumer can select the news he or she wants (much like setting aside newspaper sections which are of no interest) in the order he or she wants, but it will always be filtered in some way. Unless the news stories write themselves, there will be editorial decisions as to what news is convered, when it is covered, and how much attention is paid to the coverage, no matter which news-gathering organization you consider. (Even the Associated Press and Reuters don't cover everything that is happening in the world.) Although topics of interest can be set by the user in the news aggregators mentioned (whether or not widgets/gadgets are used in the process), an editor has by the time the story appears already decided that a reporter would write about a particular subject or incident worthy of coverage. So, I think there will always be someone making editorial decisions; the end-users can validate those decisions by which stories they choose and in what order they choose them. And as for the choices in this brave, new world, I have decidedly mixed feelings. I think it's wonderful that I can choose just what I want to know about, but I'm afraid I'd focus too much on the areas in which I have an interest and not on something which might be important. As vital as information about grizzly bears is (and I thought the punchline was great!), I'd probably want to know about health-care reform a bit more. The PEJ findings aren't too surprising, since people who use technology are probably the ones who want to read about it more than the average person, despite all the iPhone hoopla of recent weeks. What does trouble me is the reliance on blogs as news sources (where the blurring of opinion and fact is prevalent) and the diminished interest in foreign news. I’m afraid I’ll have to disagree with one of the premises of today’s blog, which is that news the end-user wants can come to him or her unfiltered. I’d prefer to say that the consumer can select the news he or she wants (much like setting aside newspaper sections which are of no interest) in the order he or she wants, but it will always be filtered in some way.
Unless the news stories write themselves, there will be editorial decisions as to what news is convered, when it is covered, and how much attention is paid to the coverage, no matter which news-gathering organization you consider. (Even the Associated Press and Reuters don’t cover everything that is happening in the world.) Although topics of interest can be set by the user in the news aggregators mentioned (whether or not widgets/gadgets are used in the process), an editor has by the time the story appears already decided that a reporter would write about a particular subject or incident worthy of coverage. So, I think there will always be someone making editorial decisions; the end-users can validate those decisions by which stories they choose and in what order they choose them.
And as for the choices in this brave, new world, I have decidedly mixed feelings. I think it’s wonderful that I can choose just what I want to know about, but I’m afraid I’d focus too much on the areas in which I have an interest and not on something which might be important. As vital as information about grizzly bears is (and I thought the punchline was great!), I’d probably want to know about health-care reform a bit more.
The PEJ findings aren’t too surprising, since people who use technology are probably the ones who want to read about it more than the average person, despite all the iPhone hoopla of recent weeks. What does trouble me is the reliance on blogs as news sources (where the blurring of opinion and fact is prevalent) and the diminished interest in foreign news.

]]> http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2007/09/younews/#comment-12391 Andy Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:47:07 +0000 http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2007/09/younews/#comment-12391 I had a taste of what that would be like, during the first Gulf War. My big dish picked up raw, unedited feeds from the correspondents embedded with combat units. Most informative and interesting, particularly for the fact that only a miniscule amount of the footage taken was ever aired. It gave me one heck of an insight both of the war and the correspondents' daily travails. I had a taste of what that would be like, during the first Gulf War. My big dish picked up raw, unedited feeds from the correspondents embedded with combat units. Most informative and interesting, particularly for the fact that only a miniscule amount of the footage taken was ever aired. It gave me one heck of an insight both of the war and the correspondents’ daily travails.

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