Iran’s threat to close the Straits of Hormuz has only just hit the news tonight in Australia, and it looks like Australian coverage is pretty much in line with the international news organisations, judging by my google search.
It says something about how denuded mainstream media have become of genuine overseas insight that you could have read about this potential threat on On Line Opinion 8 days ago in this article by Ali Omidi from the University of Isfahan-Iran.
While the hyperbole is that the Internet has brought us closer together, in most cases this doesn’t appear to have affected how we get our news, with a few exceptions. And those exceptions seem to be in broadening the range of sources the media can call on after things are current, not before.
So in the Iraq War there were some bloggers who made a name for themselves after the invasion, but this was by way of a supporting cast, not as the leading players.
The challenge to the mainstream media is not really a challenge to their financial model so much as it is a challenge to the value of what they purvey. A recent report in The Australian says that the media ranks last for trustworthiness according to unpublished results from The Australian Electoral Survey. However the graph that illustrates the story uses the term “confidence” rather than “trust”.
Confidence is broader than trust, and encompasses competence, which is the real reason the financial model is under threat.
The print media hasn’t been able to sell its product for what it costs to produce, so has become reliant on advertising to make up the difference. Which has led to a concentration on producing more content so as to have the pages to support the advertising demand.
Now that the advertising is migrating to the Internet and inventory is at a surplus rather than a premium meaning advertisers pay cents instead of dollars to reach audiences the media has to get back to producing something of value in itself.
Fix up the value of what media produce and not only will the financial model fix itself, but so will its approval levels.
Getting on top of stories like the Iranian threat on the Strait of Hormuz before they become urgent is part of that repair. In that respect the Internet can be an ally rather than an enemy, but only if media changes the way that it uses it.
And that’s a message to On Line Opinion as much as it is to any of our colleagues.
I never rely on Aust mainstream media for much at all.
Internet quickest source of info, just as OLO more informative than Aussie newspapers most of time.
It is amazing how many tv news shows i see 24 hours earlier on Internet.
Comment by Chris Lewis — December 30, 2011 @ 1:30 pm
The US and Israel have been conducting covert operations in Iran for some time.They want Iranian oil just like Iraqi oil.Both Russia and China have warned off the Western Imperialists seemingly to no avail.
The first casuality of war is the truth.
Comment by Ross — December 30, 2011 @ 2:04 pm
You’ve lost me Ross. How is the Iranian move about the US “wanting” Iranian oil? I thought it was all about an embargo on Iranian oil.
Comment by Graham — January 1, 2012 @ 11:25 am
Graham,Israel for some time have been pushing for the invasion of Iran.Iran has been under seige by the West for some time.The trading sanctions without proof of nukes is an act of war.The CIA said 2 yrs ago that Iran has no nukes.Iran is just reacting to US /NATO aggression in threatening to close Hormuz.
Some yrs ago it was discovered that the US was funding a Russian program for Iran to improve its nuclear energy tecnology.Now like hypocrts they falsely accuse Iran of developing nukes.Israel has at least 200 nukes.Why are not the weapons inspectors in there?
Everyone is quick to call Iran an aggressor.What countries has Iran invaded compared to the USA/NATO?
Comment by Ross — January 1, 2012 @ 2:17 pm
I think you have it the wrong way around Ross. Iran has been threatening Israel for quite some time and has a leader who thinks the holocaust was a myth. I can understand Israel considering preemptive action and I can understand the world putting sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program even though I doubt that they will work.
I’d actually be surprised if the Iranians do anything apart from posture on the basis that to do more would be suicidal for the regime.
Comment by Graham — January 2, 2012 @ 1:55 pm
The often qouted line by the Zionists Graham is by Armadinjad.”The present regieme will be wiped away by the pages of time.” The Zionists interpret this as wiping Israel off the map.Why do you not mention the oppression of the Palistinians who have no rights?
The Jews do not have the monopoly on opression.Pol Pot a US backed dictator murdered one million Cambodians and another 2 million died from disease and malnutrition.
Stalin was responsible for the deaths of 20 million Russians.
The military,industrial, banking complex stealing Iranian oil will not make fuel cheaper for us.Their aim is to monopolise energy and make our lives an absolute misery.
Money is no longer the prize.They have all the creature comforts you could possibly imagine.Absolute power is their aim.
Comment by Ross — January 8, 2012 @ 8:59 pm