The media is in a period of rapid change, and according to at least one journalist, it's headed for an apocalypse.
Author and National Public Radio host Bob Garfield gave a presentation at the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Tuesday night on the media and their inner workings as they address the problems of the future.
Garfield, a veteran journalist and commentator, co-hosts "On The Media" for NPR and is author of the book "The Chaos Scenario."
Almost 300 people packed Cardinal Hall to hear Garfield's presentation, which focused on the effects that new technology and new media outlets have on what he called "the old media model." Garfield said he believed it would take time for the industry to change from the current model, but that change seems inevitable.
Garfield's idea of a "chaos scenario" says that the media as it exists is headed for extinction due to a fragmented audience and a significant loss of advertising dollars. He said he believed that the corporate media giants currently in operation will give way to less expensive outlets. As advertisers look for new outlets to spend their money, small specialized operations will become the dominant forces in media, he said.
Garfield said there is already evidence of this new media in the expanding realm of citizen journalism.
"The collapse of the old media model will unleash vast forces, and much of it will be coming at you," he said, "but there's nothing especially orderly about the media's new world order."
While Garfield said profits were important in media's evolution, he said he thought audience interest was the driving force behind the change.
Paul Ranieri, director of Ball State's Freshman Connections program, said he was pleased with Garfield's presentation, the final for the program this year.
"He touched on a lot of issues," Ranieri said. "He gave everyone a lot to think about tonight."
Be the first to comment on this article!