QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Last week's question concerned comments by former British Prime
Minister Tony
Blair that technology such as the Internet has changed the way
journalists
operate. We asked INSIDERs if technology has caused the media to become
dangerous. Seventy-four percent of you said yes, while 26 percent said
no.
Here's more of what you had to say:
"All too often the media is in a frenzy to get a story first. Checking
and
re-checking facts seems to be the exception nowadays. When they do get
a story
wrong, they are quick to print an apology, usually buried somewhere
where it
won't be noticed." - J. Palmiotto
"It is no surprise that elected government officials are complaining
about how
and what the media covers. It is much more dangerous for those
officials to go
unbridled. I'm sure there was this same basic argument presented when
printed
news became readily available on a daily basis. - J. Guelzow
"Technology has not made the media more dangerous. Society's ridiculous
obsession with the private lives of celebrities has. The root cause is
simple
supply and demand; if there wasn't such a voracious appetite for
gossip, then
the dangerous situations created by journalists interfering with their
subjects
and the people around them to get a story would be much less." - M.
Rhodes
"Technology is merely a tool, and as such, does not cause anything. The
decay in
ethical behavior, and the fact that most of the news media promote
their own
agenda, is behind the pathetic state of the news media. Having access
to tools
of great potential does not force one to behave unethically. Weak
personal
character leads to it." - D. Miles
This week's question concerns hype meeting reality last Friday, when
the much-
anticipated Apple iPhone finally went on sale. The demand was so great
that
buyers sat in line outside stores for more than 12 hours in order to
get one.
Apple and AT&T (the exclusive service provider for the iPhone) hired
2,000
extra employees to handle the iPhone rollout. So, will you be buying an
iPhone? Submit your answer at:
http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20070702A10
