Philosophy

Upon reading the selected articles and Chapter 4 that was provided, it seems clear that the term credibility is a really big deal, especially for those people who depend on media to obtain information and news. First of all, what does the word credibility mean What does it imply if something is a credible piece of information Why is it so important especially when it comes to TV, Radio, Internet and other forms of media What is the status of media today regarding credibility This paper will discuss and aim to answer all these questions as well as integrating it with several types of media.

Synonymous to the words trustworthiness, integrity and reliability the word credibility is most of the time used with words like information, story and news. It can also be considered as a value, a very positive and good value that must be practiced by most of us for it may entail honesty and even sincerity. Credibility, having its many definitions and descriptions really does seem like a very important word especially to those that give out news, stories and information  the Media. Defined in the dictionary as the quality or power of inspiring belief, credibility basically is a characteristic possessed by or is present in something or someone that is trustworthy, experienced, and is believable. Hence being credible typically means being completely believable or at least convincing enough to be trusted by society. Studying these definitions even more, we can see or at least paint a picture on how it becomes significantly related to all forms of media. Online news pages in the internet, the radio, television and the newspaper find it important to be credible because as kinds of media that show and provide news and several information, may it be local, national or global, being credible to the people who use, seek, read and listen to these information will make all the difference in remaining or keeping their name as type of media or a source of information. If a specific from of media is credible, for an example a brand of newspaper, if this newspaper maintains credible resourcing and news, it would mean more subscribers for the newspaper because credible information entails trust and believability, and if more people feel this way about a newspaper or any form of media for that matter, the tendency is that more people will rely on these particular source of information and sales for that media type will go up. However, it is for that reason of making more money that causes the problem of credibility in media. There are many studies today arguing that there is a decline and lack of news medias credibility over the past several years. This is seen on the three articles I selected to use as my source. The articles can be used to see the reasons why there is a fall in news and media credibility as well as the ways people create their criteria for what is credible news information or not.

On the article, The Decline of TV News Credibility, it was pretty clear what the article was talking about. It said that over the last few decades, the credibility of TV news has dropped due to the following reasons which I found very interesting and practical by the way. First is the way TV has changed its approach from what used to be concerned with public interest programming is now more concern in taking in more cash by increasing its ratings. This led to a second reason which is cutting back on News programs to make way for people-wanting profit making tabloid TV shows. With the popularity of these shows, news values are being distorted says the article. Viewers are now having a difficult time in distinguishing between what is real and what is fiction. Real referring to the news and fiction to the TV shows (i.e. drama). This resulted to a sort of confusion in TV programs hence the credibility and believability of news has declined. Due to a sort of romanticizing of the local news in the U.S, it was found out that the local citizens prefer to watch news from foreign channels such as the BBC for they feel that these channels provide a more comprehensive and believable version of the news. It was also mentioned in the article that the decline in getting news from TV led to the rise of credibility of another from of media, studied to be the source of news and information for a majority of people. Especially students, it is - the Internet.

Key News Audiences Now Blend Online and Traditional Sources, another article I chose for its detailed discussion about how and where different people obtain their news. Stated in the article were the three different trends of obtaining news. The first ones are the Integrators who obtain news from both traditional sources (i.e. TV) and the internet. Second, the Net-Newsers, these are people who only use the web for obtaining news and information. And finally, the traditionalists, they are those who stick to the old forms in getting news, (i.e. TV, radio and print). Answering the question of what criteria is being used to justify something is a credible source of information is evident in the article. The group labels perfectly can indicate that the criteria of what is credible depend on the person as well as some other factors such as age. The article states that younger people which were classified as the Net-Newsers rely more on the news provided by the World Wide Web than by relying on more credible sources. The article however does not say that people getting news form the internet has increased rather in the end it says that online news gathering is increasing. This may however mean that newer generation sees the internet as a form of media, a more credible source of news because of the accuracy of the information being shown and the ease in accessing them.

The third article that I chose is on Media Think the Public is the Problem, this article stresses on the idea that the reason why the print media is going on a downward path in terms of its news credibility is because the media is not connecting with the people anymore. Like the previous articles, it was clear that the media really is losing its credibility when it comes to giving news. But stated in the article is that the reason for this decline is due to the internet and how they interpret and present the data from newspapers and the distortion of news on television. According to the article it is the ill-informed publics fault on why the print media is declining. We can say here that the credibility of one media can be destroyed or lessened by another form of media and it is still up to these information and news providers to find ways to reconnect with the public and win their credibility back. The change in ways Americans view credibility is also seen in the article, relying on the internet blogs comments on print media and other TV news, it changed the way they see the credibility of newspapers which is among the first forms of media.

Overall, upon reading and discussing Chapter 4 and the three articles, credibility and being credible is definitely a very important characteristic of something that gives out news. It is also important for the people that receive this news. It is credibility that makes everything in society real and true. Depending on the person, it can be put into criteria, such as information has to be accurate, true and reliable. May it be an internet, radio, TV or newspaper source, it was clear that Americans change the way they view these information. This is because the way news is presented changes because of reasons like ratings, money, etc. It is now up to the people who obtain information to find out which ones is credible information or not. Change in media is inevitable, so it is up to the viewers, readers and listeners to take caution and dont always believe what they see and hear.