As a student participating in the online public sphere, I think it is important to make use of my alternative media channel as I am inspired, but most importantly, when mainstream news outlets report poorly. (Which I guess does inspire me ;). According to Henry Jenkins, alternative media (like YouTube) have an essential place in our contemporary culture when it can challenge the mainstream (as do blogs). In his article titled Nine Propositions Toward a Cultural Theory of YouTube, Jenkins states that on YouTube, “Amateur curators assess value of commercial content and re-present it for various niche communities of consumers”.
In this case, the commercial content I am choosing to highlight is footage of NBC discussing who will be participating in opening ceremonies. In the footage, not only does the reporter confuse Michael J. Fox’s name in place of Terry Fox, but the network even shows a picture of Michael J. Fox after the reporter has spoken about Terry and his mother. No more comments needed here, other than- HOW ON EARTH DO YOU CONFUSE THOSE TWO? You just don't... especially when you are NBC. Thank goodness alternative media caught this mistake, because it needs to be pointed out for the sake of Terry Fox’s memory. I have yet to find an article or any correction from NBC apologizing for this outrageous error. Here’s the clip.
I do want to take this time to link to the foundations related to both Terry Fox and Michael J. Fox. Please check out the Terry Fox Foundation for Cancer Research and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
Wow, that's pretty shocking. At first I wasn't sure if it was just a case of Meredith being ignorant to Canadian history, or if it was simply a slip of the tongue - but for actual NBC producers to show a picture of Michael J. Fox? I don't quite understand that.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, Youtube is synonymous for allowing us to re-watch screw ups like this. They essentially become viral videos - example. that Miss California who didn't know how to answer her question, which lead to embarrassing rambling.
There's this completely new pressure regarding media now - where anything embarrassing can now be viewed as soon as it happens. Before Youtube, if something happened, it was quickly out of our memories and impossible to replay (unless you coincidentally taped it of course).
But I definitely think this is a very interesting thing that Youtube has done to change the way media works. News anchors definitely have to be at the height of their game, otherwise they will unfortunately be "Youtubed".
Well put. There are definitely added pressures for news anchors, or anyone on TV to not make any errors. It ensures reporters (like Meredith) take their jobs more seriously, making sure they know what they're talking about. I hope I'm not being too hard on her, as it could have just been a small mistake. But even if you don't know who Terry Fox is, Michael J. Fox is HUGE and still alive, whereas Terry Fox has long passed away.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you mentioned videos like these become viral, because that highlights another one of Youtube's benefits for the online public sphere. An individual that might not have come across a video like this under normal circumstances will become exposed to it once alternative media sites post and comment on them. This will essentially educate viewers on the matter, and in doing so, they can learn more about history (and how they cannot be passive viewers of mainstream media).