The New York Times

I read the New York Times a couple times a week. It has yet to make it into my daily habit of checking the news and I think it is because I feel I have to check it more as homework rather than reading the news. My experience with the New York Times though has been a good one. I read mostly articles on current world or US events. With those though I rarely read political articles about the presidential candidates even though that is a lot of the news being reported recently. On top of world events, I read articles in the tech section. Many of these grab my attention because I am interested in new technology and articles explaining it. I know, because of my interests, I have missed a lot information about political candidates and the primaries going on and also a majority of the rioting, and movements happening in the middle east. There have been many large headline articles on these topics but I still chose to not even look over them. The New York Times has influenced my other reading habits because I do not visit it as often as other news sources and when I do I remember how selective I am in the news I read. Even though I realize this, I have yet to change my habits much on the news I read.  It also has showed me that even though it is just another news source, since it is “homework” I am less likely to visit it, which is surprising to me. 

How we get our news

Our class, surprisingly, had a big diversity on their sources of news. Still though, A majority of our class relies on the internet as their news sources. Facebook is surprisingly a prominent news sources for lots of us too on top of  news specific sites. The news sites we all visit vary from person to person but many of people visit at least one or two. These provide us with the quick satisfaction of seeing what is going on at any time of the day. I was shocked at how many other sources of news our class had. There were a couple who said they still read the paper, or previously read the paper when it was more readily available to them. I can see the appeal of this because I feel if I had a paper to read I would read into more articles on broader topics than I do on the internet.  On top this, the radio was mentioned a few times. I know for me personally, I try to skip all commercials if I have to listen to the radio so I have not really looked at it as a news source. TV also was a fairly common news source. Many people said they watched the Colbert Report or the Daily show for news.  Though these often done in a comedic fashion but still provide the relevant news of the day. Using the radio or TV for news also allows for a person to be multitasking, not necessarily focusing on the news, but paying attention when words of interest are mentioned. The appeal to this form of news is similar to that of the internet because people are able to get more done if they are not solely listening or reading the news, which many people find vital in our fast paced society. 

Extended Essay Final draft

Adam Clark

Writ 1122

Eric Leake

2/06/2012

Audience:

            My audience is one who is unaware, or do not believing that the internet provides benefits to both reading and writing. Though the audience may be unaware of the benefits they are familiar with the internet’s uses and have had some experience with it themselves. The paper presents the facts without a personal influence as to not say how the internet has affected a single person’s experience but a populations’ as a whole. The essay presents all the positive effects the internet can provide and shows how each thing can be seen in a positive light.

Reading and writing: Positively Influenced by the Internet

One reads in the mediums that they experience everyday. This may be through novels; magazines; newspapers; and, more recently, online through the Internet.  With this new source of information, the way people read is changing. An endless amount of information to read is at the hands of anyone who can get internet access. The internet also allows new information to become available at any time of the day, no longer do people have to wait for some new big news to be released through an article in the daily paper or magazine. Now that this new information can so readily become available to people, new information can also lose interest quickly by other new more important information. Because of this need to quickly satisfy a reader, the way people are writing is changing as well. Online writing needs to quickly get the readers attention and not be to long as it might bore the reader. The internet has also allowed reading and writing to come together more as it provides new opportunities to comment, criticize and question a writer. With this new source of media, society is adapting to maximize the potential it has to offer; these adaptations call for a change in how one reads and writes both on and off the web.

            The internet has allowed people to read and write more, through their daily lives, than ever before.  Since information can be so easily distributed, people are eager to read the latest news. Carr says “the net is becoming a universal medium, the conduit for most of the information the flows through my eyes and ears and into my mind” (Carr 1). Like Carr, people want to take in new information; and now that it is easily available, people want to continue reading to learn more. Carr also states “my mind now expects to take in information the way the net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particle” (1). People expect to quickly go over large amounts of information, wanting to continue to take in as much information as possible. This has allowed for a new style of reading to emerge, adapted to the desires of people’s new reading goals. This style of reading stemmed from the internet, thus that being its intended medium to be used in; if one uses an internet reading style for all reading, he or she can lose the authors intent.

With people’s desire to read more, the need for more writing has become present. The internet has provided a multitude of new opportunities for professional and amateur writes alike. Thompson says the internet has provided many additional mediums for people to write in. “So much socialization takes place online, and it almost always involves text,” and though the text may not be long, well thought out pieces, it does keep people writing more often (Thompson 1). Similarly, Sullivan believes the internet has enticed more people to write. “Every writer since the printing press has longed for a means to publish himself and reach--instantly—any reader on earth,” since this is now possible, people are more likely to write because they know it can be distributed to people interested in reading it (Sullivan 3). The “average Joe” writer can now publish his pieces to world, something that had been previously reserved for mostly professional writers.  The internet has positively changed reading and writing habits in the sense that people read more because more information is available to them and write more because writing is more easily distributed to people.

            In addition to getting people to write more, the internet has changed the style of how people write. Writing on the internet has no editor, and is solely controlled by the writer. Since the internet makes writing available to anyone, it has forced writers to identify and write to an audience. Thompson said this was  “something virtually no one in my generation did” (Thompson 1). This was a vital change to writing because previously, a majority of writing was only presented to its intended audience so it was only read in its intended context. Since it is now presented to anyone through the web, the writer must know his intended audience in order to have effective writing. Not only are people more capable to write to a specific audience, that audience now has the possibility to comment and to question the writer about a piece. Sullivan says blogging is “at its best, a conversation rather than a production.” (Sullivan 4) For Sullivan, blogging becomes a conversation because readers are able to leave their comments and questions directly on his blog. He then has an opportunity to answer those questions, making his writing very conversational. Though not all-online writing allows readers to leave comments, a reader can still post his comments else where online to spark conversation with others. By enabling writing to become more conversational, it no longer leaves the writer in a position of dominance over his audience, but brings reading and writing together because both parties have the ability to speak about a piece.

            Online writing has become shorter than more traditional printed writing, and though this may seem like a negative effect; it is not. Sullivan sees that shorter writing, through his blogging, as something positive. He says, “on the web one sentence links are as legitimate as thousand word diatribes.” (Sullivan 4) Because he is able to link to sources through his blogging, his writing does not need to be as long. Sullivan is able to guide readers to his sources allowing them to read them first hand, eliminating the need for him to summarize his sources. With this new style of writing though, Sullivan says “the notion that blogging should some how replace traditional writing is as foolish as it is pernicious” (Sullivan 8).  One must be remembered that traditional writing will always have its place even as writing changes with new technology. A major issue seen with this shorter writing style is its effect on readers. With the fast-paced short writing on the internet, people may be less likely to read a longer article or print novel. Carr expresses concern with people tendencies to “power browse” instead of reading an entire article (Carr 2). Since so much information is available to people, they do not want to spend the time to read a lengthy article or novel anymore. Sullivan has a similar concern; but through saying “no one wants to read a 9,000 word treatise online,” he presents it similarly to his comment on blogging (Sullivan 4). His key point is through mentioning online. Reading on the internet will not replace traditional reading, but online people do not want to read a lengthy article. Online writing has adapted to peoples desire to quickly scan and read articles. People must not solely read online, online reading is important to the future of reading, but it cannot replace traditional reading. With two different writing styles for print and online media, one must not read them same. One must know how to read an article in its particular context and use an appropriate reading style, whether it is power browsing or in-depth reading. Likewise with writing, one should not write in the same style online and for a formal paper. It is a power to be able to read and write in both settings, but one must know when to use each power.

            This is not the first time reading and writing have gone through a big change. The invention of the printing press and typewriter, both had similar changes on the availability of information to the public. Without change, reading and writing would become tiresome, repetitive tasks and no longer interest people. Change allows them to adapt to peoples needs, to better suit and interest them. With new technology and the internet, people are able to distribute their writings to new audiences easily. Being able to publish ones own writing encourages more people to write because they know it will be read. Even if one is not posting his writings on the web, simply interacting with the web makes one write more than ever before. All this new writing, on top of previous writings, is now available to anyone at a click of a button. With the ability to easily access so much knowledge people are more eager to read on the web and search for articles of interest. The danger with this though, is people may become accustomed to short articles on the web, and then sometimes find it difficult to transition back to longer web and print readings. Internet reading should be an addition, not a replacement, of traditional reading. The internet has provided the means to expand ones reading and writing capabilities. People need to maximize the new potential the internet has provided for reading and writing by doing just that; spending more time using the web to write and read

Works Cited

Thompson, Clive. “Clive Thompson on the New Literacy”. Wired Magazine. 24 August 2009.

Carr, Nicholas. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” The Atlantic July-Aug. 2008. The Atlantic. Web. 25 Jan 2012.

Sullivan, Andrew. "Why I Blog." The Atlantic Nov. 2008. The Atlantic. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.

Getting the News

I get a majority of my news online. I only look at print media for news on occasion when I am at home and I see a news paper laying around the house, but since I do not ever pick one up while I am at school I rely on the internet as my main source of news.  Occasionally, I will hear about something new from a friend while in class or just talking, and that normally results in a Google search about it once I have a chance and if I remember. For online news, I check either CNN or BBC at least once a day, but normally I try to look at both twice a day. Normally checking them once when I get up in the morning before class and once at night before I go to sleep.  Another source of new for me on the web is stumble upon. It can provide lots of more “random” news that what CNN or BBC reports on but it is still interesting to me and current breakthroughs or news.  I can spend a lot more time reading news on stumble upon because it always provides new random articles, and even if it shows two articles on the same “news” they are normally different points of view. This is nice to get a broader grasp on what really happened not just one persons account of it. 

Essay rough draft

One reads in the mediums that they experience everyday. This may be through novels, magazines, newspapers and more recently online through the Internet.  With this new source of information, the way people read it is changing. An endless amount of information to read is at the hands of anyone who can get internet access. The internet also allows new information to become available at any time of the day, no longer do people have to wait for some new big news to be released through an article in the daily paper or magazine. Since this new information can so readily become available to people, new information can also lose interest fast by another new more important information. Because of this need to quickly satisfy a reader, the way people are writing is changing as well. Online writing needs to quickly get the readers attention and not be to long as it might bore the reader. The internet has also allowed reading and writing to come together more as it provides new opportunities to comment, criticize and question a writer. With this new source of media, society is adapting to maximize the potential it has to offer, and these adaptations call for a change in how one reads and writes both on and off the web.

            The internet has allowed people to read and write more, through their daily lives, than ever before.  Since information can be so easily distributed, people are eager to read the latest news. Carr says “ the net is becoming a universal medium, the conduit for most of the information the flows through my eyes and ears and into my mind.” (carr) People want to take in new information, and now that it is easily available people want to continue reading it to learn more. Carr also states “my mind now expects to take in information the way the net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particle.” (carr) People expect to quickly go over large amounts of information, wanting to continue to take in as much information as possible. Thompson also says the internet has provided additional mediums for people to write in. “So much socialization takes place online, and it almost always involves text” though the text may not be long, well thought out pieces, it does keep people writing more often (Thompson). Similarly, Sullivan believes the internet has enticed more people to write. “Every writer since the printing press has longed for a means to publish himself and reach--instantly—any reader on earth” since this is now possible, people are more likely to write because they know it can be distributed to people interested in reading it (Sullivan).  The internet has positively changed reading and writing habits in the sense that people read more because more information is available to them and write more because writing is more easily distributed to people.

            In addition to getting people to write more, the internet has changed the style of how people write. Writing on the internet has no editor, and is solely controlled by the writer. Since the internet makes writing available to anyone, it has forced writers to identify and write to an audience. Thompson said this was  “something virtually no one in my generation did.” (Thompson) This was an important change because previously a majority of writing was only presented to its intended audience so it was only read in its intended context. Since it is now presented to anyone through the web, the writer must know his intended audience in order to have effective writing. Not only are people better able to write to a specific audience, that audience now has the possibility to comment and ask the writer questions about a piece. Sullivan says blogging is “at its best, a conversation rather than a production.” (Sullivan) For Sullivan, blogging becomes a conversation because readers are able to leave their comments and questions directly on his blog. He then has an opportunity to answer those questions, making his writing very conversational. Though not all online writing allows readers to leave comments, a reader can still post his comments else where online to spark conversation with others. By enabling writing to become more conversational, it no longer leaves the writer in a position of dominance over his audience, but brings reading and writing together.

            Online writing has become shorter than more traditional printed writing. Sullivan sees that shorter writing, though his blogging as something positive. He says “on the web one sentence links are as legitimate as thousand word diatribes.” (Sullivan) Because he is able to link to sources through his blogging, his writing does not need to be as long, explaining his sources, and readers are able to see his sources. With this new style of writing Sullivan says “the notion that blogging should some how replace traditional writing is as foolish as it is pernicious” (Sullivan).  One must be remembered that traditional writing will always have its place even as writing changes with new technology. A major issue seen with this shorter writing style, is its effect on readers. With the fast paced short writing on the internet, people may be less likely to read a longer article or print novel. Carr expresses concern with people tendencies to “power browse” instead of reading an entire article (carr). Since so much information is available to people, they do not want to spend the time to read a lengthy article or novel anymore. Sullivan has a similar concern but through saying “no one wants to read a 9,000 word treatise online,” but he presents it similar to his comment on blogging, it will not replace traditional reading, but online people do not want to read a lengthy article. Online writing has adapted to peoples desire to quickly scan and read articles. People must not solely read online, online reading is important to the future of reading, but it cannot replace traditional reading. Likewise with writing, one should not write in the same style online and for a formal paper. It is a power to be able to read and write in both settings, but one must know when to use each power.

            This is not the first time reading and writing have gone through a big change. The invention of the printing press and typewriter, both had similar changes on the availability of information to the public. Without change, reading and writing would become tiresome, repetitive tasks and no longer interest people. Change allows them to adapt to peoples needs, to better suit and interest them. With new technology and the internet people are able to distribute their writings to new audiences easily. Being able to publish ones own writing encourages more people to write because they know it will be read. Even if one is not posting his writings on the web, simply interacting with the web makes one write more than ever before. All this new writing on top of previous writings is now available to anyone at a click of a button. With the ability to easily access so much knowledge people are more eager to read on the web and search for articles of interest. The danger with this though, is people become accustomed to short readings on the web, and then sometimes find it difficult to transition back to longer web and print reading. Internet reading should be an addition, not a replacement, of traditional reading. The internet has provides the means to expand ones reading and writing capabilities. People need to maximize the new potential the internet has provided for reading and writing by doing just that, reading and writing on the internet.