A Surplus of Sources

After reading Jeff Jarvis’s “The Press Becomes the Press-Sphere,” the connotation is rather harsh. I feel Jarvis views the press as manipulators of information that run the news that is circulated through out the world. It is portrayed as if news is not considered news until the press has distorted it. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is very true. Through this distortion itself, comes the actual story and information. The reason is because through commentary, blog posts, and reporting, come different aspects of the story, that as a whole collaborate to make one big story that is to be shared to the public. However, I found it confusing on how he tried to explain the new news process. What comes after follow up if the story supposedly continues on after this point? Does the process of links, comments, and follow up continue on in a repetitive string, or is there more to the construction of a story? As well with this new news process; is it a time line of events, or can bits and pieces be switched around and still form a story? Obviously the second half of the line can’t be switched in time with the first half, but can pieces like reporting come right after the idea? Or can publishing and links come directly from the idea and or the discussion and simply skip the interviews and reporting? Can these things happen, or is this time line simply Jarvis’s way at looking at the press and news of today? Because in my way of receiving stories and news, the way in which a story gets to me changes drastically as the source changes. For instance, if I get my news from the Television, then more than likely my story will be in the exact spot in which Jarvis placed it, or if I receive my news from peers, then my story line may be a bit more extended and have more components that allow it to become a story. There are so many ways in which news becomes someone’s own personal story by the end of the day. It takes a community to create a story, and it takes an individual to complete it.