The CBC documentary, The End (click to watch), discusses how the traditional media of radio, television and print are coming to an end. Despite what many people like to think and argue, print media is going to be around for as long as any of us will be alive. With that said, I will focus this article on the issues surrounding radio and television.

Radio

Traditional radio has been declining in popularity rapidly over the last decade. The CBC documentary, The End, outlines the numerous alternatives to radio as a reason for this steady decline. Podcasts, satellite radio, internet radio and easily accessible downloadable music all contribute to the younger generations moving away from radio. The documentary points out (without any statistical analysis of course) that teenagers just do not own radios anymore. I for one, do – that being said, it is also an iPod docking system. The only time I use my radio is for my alarm, which I’m sure is the same story for many others out there.

Say goodbye to radio kids.

Radio no longer has the listener base to attract advertisers, and therefore will not be able to continue being self-sufficient. Inevitably, radio will lose its funding and gradually fade out of existence. Maybe an online system will take its place, but what is more likely is that the alternatives mentioned above will become the main sources of music.

Television

I will keep this argument short as little evidence or argument is actually needed. Similar to print media, television will be around for a very long time. Television is not merely a source of entertainment. Television is a social convention around which many generations have grown up. Countless families will eat dinner in front of the TV, while others leave it on for background noise. In each situation, television is not being used as a media source but a social lubricant.

TV will continue to be the family hearth.

An overly used reference to the TV as the family hearth will hold true for many years to come. Whether or not we continue to use it in the way we do now, it will remain at the center of nearly every living room in the Western world.

There is a common list of journalistic ethics that tend to be followed quite religiously throughout North America, such as being fair and balanced. There are, however, exceptions to this rule. Some individuals tend to break some of this code to gain an advantage in their respected field of expertise, but these individuals do not even compare to the blatant disregard for ethical boundaries that the Fox News Channel seems to have.

The documentary Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism sets out to prove to the world that this major source of American news is greatly corrupt and pushes its right-wing views on the public. Many instances are shown where anchors and hosts take one small phrase or action and completely blow it out of context. What this documentary refrains from mentioning is the agenda of the documentary itself.
The constant barrage of accusations towards the Fox News Channel concerning bias in its reporting is not met with any opposition, mainly because the documentary did not interview or talk with any current news station employees – which in itself breaks Article 6 of the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ canons of journalism. Article 6, better known as Fair Play, is about giving people a chance to defend themselves. Aside from some ex-news anchors and a few anonymous people that actually did the opposite of defending Fox, no current Fox employees were featured on the documentary.

While this documentary obviously carries some bias in it, many good points arise. The most prominent point to discuss is one that has furiously made its way around the discussions of multiple courses offered at the University of Western Ontario – large conglomerates control the vast majority of news the general public sees and hears. Rupert Murdoch and Fox News Channel President, Roger Ailes are both accused of controlling what news (and how much of it) to cover.

I will leave you with that, and encourage you to watch the documentary for yourself and do some follow up research. Leave your two sense below.