As IF Times

link Newspaper bane: Nobody reads the stories.

One of the great consequences of the trend towards packaging news and entertainment into bite sized pieces for the modern A.D.D. culture is that much of the depth of information is lost.  Ironically, at a time in history when there has never been as much information, news and entertainment so readily available to so many, people are as uninformed as ever about events that affect their lives.

In the news business, this can arguably be traced back to the appearance of USA Today, a publication that was novel when it first appeared in the early ’80’s.  In many ways, this paper set the trend for the format of how news was to be presented as we see it today.  Up until its appearance, most newspapers were uniformly drab in appearance and pedestrian in their reportage.  When USA Today showed up, there was color on the pages, there were quick headlines supported by only short write-ups.  The paper was made for the hurried commuter interested only in scanning the headlines of news, sports and entertainment on a given workday.

Then the 24 hour news channels started up, the pioneer of which was CNN. All of a sudden, it was essential to fill the airwaves with ‘news’, but in short headline style delivery.  With the advent of the internet, Google, Yahoo and Bing News supplanted cable stations and newspapers as being primary sources of information.  It’s important to note the distinction between the modern news sources and the older newspapers.  Google, Bing and Yahoo are only aggregators of news, they actually don’t create it.   Their role is to cast as wide a net as possible to capture the most eyeballs to their sites.  While this may seem  democratic and in the spirit of free markets, in reality, the editors of those sites wield powerful control over the content which is presented on their sites thereby influencing public opinion as newspapers did in past generations.  The difference is that there are no editorial columns on the sites of the news aggregators; the influence is through the selection of stories that get to be featured prominently in their links.

For example, the influence of Justin Bieber in our culture (outside of the pimply set ) is wildly exaggerated by virtue of regular breathless stories of his exploits on any given day.  Same with Lindsay Lohan, P. Diddy, or any of the Kardashians.  We are bombarded by the inane and insane outbursts by such as Al Sharpton and Al Gore who are given platforms well beyond what they could muster if not aided by a willing media.  I suspect that most people never even bother to read the underlying stories, since the content is pretty much expected given the personalities involved.  Why bother to read the body of the story, since we know a story involving Sharpton involves imagined racism and a story involving Gore involves imagined warming.

The real sea change however is the art of headline writing.  To catch peoples’ attentions, dramatic headlines are the hook by which readers are drawn in.  In fact, headline writing continues as a skill in itself and if done correctly, obviates the need to read an entire story.  I recall years ago when Nikita Kruschev passed away; the headline was: “Top Red Dead”.  Today, we have reportage of Anthony Wiener’s brazen campaign for mayor in New York City offering headlines such as “Weiner support getting soft” or “Weiner support shrinking” and his response which states, “Wiener sticking it out”.   The President even waded into the situation by chastising Wiener.  So of course, the headline is “Obama beats Wiener”.

Perhaps no one today is as adept at the “story in a headline” technique as Matt Drudge in his eponymous  Drudge Report.  From nowhere 10 years ago to inarguably the most powerful media figure today (next to Roger Ailes ) his news site brings the top stories of the day concisely and bluntly.  As an example, the top headlines in today’s Drudge lists the following:

link Facebook May Hire Robert Gibbs, Former Obama Aide – NYTimes.com.

There may be the odd person who has been in a coma for the past 3  years that doesn’t know who Robert Gibbs is.  He was until recently, the official White House communications director charged with explaining policy to the press in daily briefings.  Of course, explaining and making sense of White House policy was challenging enough given what he had to work with every day.  Sort of like explaining  current events through interpretive dance.  Some say he did a commendable job, for the most part keeping a straight face while offering the most fanciful versions of events to the assembled reporters.  The only giveaway was the over worked use of the “uh” mannerism, which over time came to be associated with Gibbs as much as handcuffs  did with Lindsay Lohan.

You have to admire his willingness to take on challenges, because in a previous role, he was in charge of John Kerry’s campaign communications.  Remember John Kerry?  He of the “I was for the war before I was against it” Kerry?  Gibbs is actually a career spokesman, having assumed that role for numerous Democratic contenders over the years.  That being the case, you would expect a little more polish in his delivery as he became more adept at spinning.  It’s not for me to criticize someone who has to make molehills out of mountains, but let’s just say by the end of his tenure  we’d expect more Leno and less Pee Wee Herman. 

Very amusing then, to find that Gibbs is rumored to be courted by Facebook, that juggernaut of social media communications, to advise on their activities in advance of a public offering.  Like George Bush when he was in office trying to explain something, Gibbs not only had words fail him, they were seen headed on planes out of the country.   You can almost imagine that  Gibbs got away with lots of naughty things as a child because his parents couldn’t bear to hear the explanations.   Despite all of this, his talents appear to be of great value to Facebook as they build the depth of their management team.  Of course, Facebook is a texting medium, not an audio medium, so maybe Gibbs’  talents will really shine there.  Unlike his previous gigs however, he doesn’t have to explain away questionable policies, so his experience may be wasted.  Still, if I were him, I would patent the “uh” abbreviation before it falls into popular use like LOL, or OMG.  That alone could be worth millions.