Information Fluency: A necessity to cope up with the Digital world
Broadcasting news has a very thin line of difference to selling a product. If news could not provoke interest and curiosity,provide pleasure, or even touch emotions of the viewers or readers, news would be like a store without a costumer.
Strategies are being employed to sell their “product” and it needs an information literate “buyer“ or viewer to sense discrepancies.
Even the newscaster herself is luring, the reason why you kept watching.
“Bizzare” news
The press tends to dwell so much to news and facts which are un-normal and sensational.
Evidences of this claim is when we hear news which captures our interests like massacre, big time corruption, scandals of celebrities, fashion trends, viral videos, etc.
As such, a rape case between father and daughter is seen as more intense and immoral than a rape case between strangers. Interests of people and sympathy are greater with the former than the latter.
Viewers should not judge directly that the country had been increasingly immoral because maybe that news is just one in a thousand cases.
“Exaggerated” news
Press can broadcast news or make them.
This is my realization to the introduction of the Bollywood movie “PK”. If there’s no news, just use a dog and broadcast that it tried to commit suicide because of problems. How exaggerated!
It might be common sense in the real world that we do not use dogs or animals just to make news. But, we do similar acts.
We listen to news that dwell so much on relationship break-ups or updates of celebrities to their lives. What do we care? They could not raise the economic status of you and your neighbors. Their news are just given so much importance that we are distracted and forget to focus on more important matters.
“Uncertain” news
What is alarming is that we consciously believe and unconsciously adapt what the press and social media has to offer. We forget that news can also have discrepancies.
An example is when newscasters project the wrong picture of the alleged suspect. They correct themselves afterwards but already damaged the dignity of an innocent citizen. Misspelled words and names also are instances which prove this claim.
It is necessary to be information fluent in this type of generation. Knowing how to access information is not the only needed thing. You should also know and do evaluation to the information whether their “sources” are reliable and the facts are accurate.