Main Stream vs. Main Street........

As Burn suggests that mainstream media tends to be polarizing I find that hard to argue against. A select few corporations and thus public news channels cover the entire news media. Even the cable news channels like CNN and FOX News are owned by corporations. Having said that, the few select news channels are trying to incorporate the news from the entire country and sometimes the world abroad and attempts to engage as many viewers as absolutely possible. From that stand point the news has to be polarizing. I also think that the "little guys" everyday people or for instance bloggers do create deliberation and debate. What these people are talking about either is known by the masses are as soon as the mainstream media hears of it they grab it and pretend they brought the issue to you. But, it is obvious that the bloggers and other media sources would talk about a particular issue at greater lengths and in greater detail. But, the mainstream media does not really care about what they have to say. I would argue that the reason of their incorporation or involvement with the mainstream media is not because they provide such great insight but rather the need for 24 hour news coverage. The mainstream media does not have enough to talk about for 24 hours straight in this new age of always running news. I can't even begin to think of a better way to make the news longer, have more topics or opinions to discuss or interpret, and do that the cheapest way possible.......free. Because almost everything online does not cost a penny, especial news, bloggs, and emails why not start to include them. Also, as bloggs and other media sources continue to grow it becomes important for the mainstream media not to ignore them. They don't want to ignore for fear of loosing them as viewers not for fear of loosing their information. So the mainstream media and primarily two tier system is at work effectively. The mainstream media is able to incorporate a growing number of viewers who participate in other forms of media such as bloggs and make them feel engaged. This I would argue is a false engagement. The bloggs are being manipulated not incorporated. Since a news source like CNN has started incorporating them into the news the average person feels more engaged or at least others like them are engaged right along side the news. Don't forget that this is all free for the networks and allows the networks to bring you nonstop news. So it is usually a false engagement. I don't know how to characterize this in terms of bottom down or top down, more like something somethings starts at the bottom then is catapulted to the top with no or barely any in between. It is very interesting and can't wait to see what people think on Tuesday.
Corey