ONLINE NEWS: CITIZENS JOURNALING THEIR JOURNEY

Online news comes with certain caveats:

Is it believable?

Is it true?

What are the sources?

None of which mattered to young baby boomers tuning in.

We had Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, Chet Huntley, among many others.

They were all old men in the eyes of a ten year old, which wasn’t that old

I don’t recall my parents doubting anything they saw on the nightly news.

They never questioned the validity of any story broadcast on the local channel, at least not in front of the kids.

We didn’t engage in dialogue based on what is or isn’t bullshit.

Not that there wasn’t plenty of it going around, from the Bay of Pigs, the Kennedy deaths, MLK, Malcom X, Vietnam, Kent State.

The online news sources were decades away so we were spared the hysterical, over-the -top, rants from the fringe.

I try putting Dan Rather in Alex Jones’ chair and he doesn’t fit.

 

Online Information

When you talk about an online audience, and I do as a blogger yearning for universal appeal, these are great numbers:

 

Jones enjoyed a large viewership, with Infowars garnering over

10 million visitors a month

and his YouTube channel attracting approximately

2.4 million subscribers and 17 million monthly views.

 

This is from a post on the Anti-Defamation League website.

They are not fans of Jones, I’m no fan of Jones, but he’s a big draw.

People eat it up and don’t spit it out as they should, and that’s where things take a hard turn.

Who can live a good life carrying that load?

 

How do his numbers compare to PBS?

Each month, more than

36 million people

watch their local PBS stations,

more than 16 million viewers

watch video on PBS’s site and apps,

and

over 53 million fans

enjoy PBS Digital Studios and other content on YouTube.

 

In the online news landscape, how do the numbers compare to the Joe Rogan Experience?

Joe Rogan’s podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience” has become a cultural phenomenon, attracting millions of listeners across various platforms. The show boasts

14.5 million followers on Spotify,

making it the platform’s most popular podcast. This impressive reach extends beyond Spotify,

with Rogan’s YouTube channel amassing

16.4 million subscribers.

 

BoomerPdx numbers for 2024:

17.3 thousand visitors

25.2 thousand views

My followers and subscribers find posts about healthcare, music, history and more.

These posts don’t write themselves, but it would be easier if I had lower standards.

 

 

Heading Different Directions?

The Joe Rogan Experience dwarfs other podcasts on Spotify, which rewarded him with a deal worth hundreds of millions. 

On the other hand, Alex Jones is going the other way.

 

Alex Jones could lose his Infowars media company when it goes up for auction today.

Live bidding is happening behind closed doors for everything from Jones’ desk, microphones and online vitamin supplements store to his “extensive in-office fitness equipment” and “Terradyne armored truck.”

 

That both guys live in Austin, Texas isn’t a slam on Austin. 

It just seems odd that two men with opinions that sometimes intertwine are so close to one another.

Call it a success lesson that one is moving on up, and the other is on the slide.

My question, which would be an observation if I had listened to either of them, my question is who tunes in for a realistic take they can use in their normal life?

Who buys health products from guys like them?

Who tells themself:

I want to be like Alex, or

I want to be like Joe?

Everyone engaged in chasing an audience for attention, that’s who.

Are they muckrakers, reporters, or concerned citizens simply journaling their journey.

If that’s the case, why do people see them as journalists in pursuit of truth, justice, and the American Way?

 

What’s The Difference Between Journalists and Journalers?

Journaler:

A journal definition is a record of thoughts, experiences, and observations that have been written down.

This is different from a diary, which is a record of what happens each day as things happen. Journal writing can be done on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

 

Journalist:

A journalist is a person whose job involves writing nonfiction stories for newspapers, magazines, or online news sites.

If you are reading or hearing a news story, you have a journalist to thank for providing that story.

 

Blogger?

I’m giving you an honest opinion, not some cocked-up story to fill space.

My shingle does not say, “Bring me your obsessed, your nuttiness, your deluded.”

If I did have a shingle, it would say, “Read Posts, Comment Smartly, And Repeat.”

Wait a minute, that is my shingle.

I don’t traffic in sensationalism, crime, war, and fear; I do traffic in hope and decency and loyalty.

If you are who I think you are, so do you.

Take that anyway you like, but it’s intended to be helpful for the lost, useful to those working things out, and lifting for those with sinking feelings.

Remember: Everything works out in the end, and if it’s not worked out, then it’s not the end.

Plan accordingly.

This is your faithful journaling blogger signing off: Good day.

(I hear Paul Harvey Jr. in ‘good DAY.’)