This article in today’s New York Times discusses the seemingly popular trend towards anti-intellectualism, which is described in Susan Jacoby’s book “The Age of American Unreason.” It brings to mind the role of journalists as informers of the public, but what if the public doesn’t care?
I found this statistic particularly disturbing: “…a 2006 National Geographic poll that found nearly half of 18- to 24-year-olds don’t think it is necessary or important to know where countries in the news are located. So more than three years into the Iraq war, only 23 percent of those with some college could locate Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel on a map.”
I’m not a wiz at geography, but I think it’s our job as global citizens to be more aware of our world, and not just what immediately affects us. I guess it also speaks to the importance of graphics to show readers where these stories are happening, since I doubt most would bother to look it up if they’re just browsing the paper or the Internet.
The article also mentions preoccupation with infotainment and the “pervasive culture of distraction.” Hard news and newspapers in general are struggling for competition amid new gadgets and media. I think it’s a problem if your sole source of information is “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” but how do you make people want to be more aware?
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