I heard a report the other day about math and science scores
in American public schools as compared to the rest of the world. We don’t do
very well, folks, and that has all the usual suspects pointing fingers of blame.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle use statistical stories such as these to
argue their own agendas, but everybody seems to miss the reality that we, as
Americans, live in a culture that views such teaching as increasingly
irrelevant. Whether that’s good or bad is not the point of this essay. I merely
wish to point out that my daughter’s calculator makes her legitimately ask why
she needs to memorize math tables.
Math and science themselves have created the tools that allow the users to
move past learning fundamentals and into application, the experiencing of the
knowledge as opposed to the learning thereof. This is basic postmodernism, a fun
little cultural change that has happened in my lifetime, and one to which few TV
journalists have paid much attention. Too bad, for without this understanding,
none of what’s happening in the business of TV news makes much sense, nor does
there seem to be any way to plug the holes of this sinking ship. The truth is
that a sinking ship eventually sinks! I say, "Let it go and build one that can
stay afloat in the 21st Century." But that requires a fresh perspective on life
in these United States.
What is postmodernism?
I don’t believe there is a single,
universally accepted definition of this term. As a movement, it essentially
points to the end of modernism, a cultural era that touted science, logic, and
the mind of man over traditions, especially religious ones. I also doubt that
there is such a thing as a pure postmodernist, for that would mean somebody
completely anti-intellectual and entirely relativistic. In fact, it’s very
difficult for a logical modernist to accept or even understand concepts so
contrary to his or her own core perspective. Therefore, rather than taking a
standard definition from a philosophy text, it will be more useful for this
discussion to compare postmodernism with modernism on a few important levels:
Modernists share a universal faith in logic and science. Postmodernists
(Pomos) see the realism of limitations.
Words like purpose, design and hierarchy are modernist, while postmodernists
would rather use play, chance and anarchy. Pomos don’t completely reject logic,
but their own experiences tell them that order isn’t over all, and they
passionately despise what they see as the inherent elitism of hierarchy.
Modernists view much of life of life at arm’s length. Postmodernists
experience it as participatory. Life is not "out there" to Pomos; rather, it is
all around us — something that we can have as little or as much of as we choose.
One of the most defining differences is with God, where the modernist would
first see God, the Father. The postmodernist would see God, the Holy Spirit.
God, the Father, represents distant authority, which Pomos reject, while God,
the Holy Spirit, is among us, something we can experience for ourselves.
For the modernist, the parts logically make up the whole, but the Pomo views
the whole as greater than the parts.
Premodernism: "I believe, therefore I understand."
Modernism: "I think and
reason, therefore I understand."
Postmodernism: "I experience, therefore I
understand."
Most people I know today are a combination of modern and postmodern thinkers,
but the shift from one to the other is unmistakable, if you allow yourself to
see it. What’s interesting is exploring the various writings about
postmodernism, because everyday events begin to make sense. My generation has
helped create a world wherein this postmodern thinking can flourish. My
daughter’s calculator, for example, permits her to use math, something that I
couldn’t do without memorization and discipline. Likewise, the Internet enables
her to use science, because knowledge is there at the click of a mouse. "Use it"
is very postmodernist, while "Study it" is very modernist.
Armed with knowledge and information promised by the Internet, postmodernists
are a serious threat to every institution in America whose power is derived from
protected knowledge. Why do you think the American Medical Association was quick
to create a lobbying arm that would keep informational medical Websites under
its purview? The AMA is an entity governing a modernist institution whose
members are licensed based on knowledge. Pomos don’t believe anybody should have
to pay for knowledge, and they reject the idea of governing bodies, because they
view them as self-serving. Modernists would argue this is really about
protecting consumers from the unscrupulous, but postmodernists would say it’s
about the AMA protecting its own interests first.
I believe this cultural shift has significant ramifications for the news
business. Postmodernism wants to play and experience, and it will not sit still
for lecturing and passive participation — both of which are fundamental
essentials of TV News. The anchor is a traditional authority figure.
Postmodernists abhor authority, especially what they view as elitist, and the
more we try to promote that, the more the postmodern world moves away. The more
we try to educate, the farther away moves the audience. They don’t wish to be
taught; they wish to learn by participating. Postmodernism sees through our
bells and whistles, our live shots, our promotional copy, and our trickery. The
more we attempt to explain what we view as out-of-control, the more we lose
postmodernists, who view anarchy and chaos as acceptable realities and reject
the modernist idea of a logical way things "ought to be."
The "broad" in broadcasting is gone forever. The very ideas of community and
group identity have changed. "Tribes" is a word often heard in postmodernist
discussion; diversity is a righteous concept among Pomos. Tribes transcend
communities. A mosaic that spreads beyond anybody’s melting pot has replaced
yesterday’s logical, American mindset. This also runs counter to modernist news
organizations, which still operate with a logical belief that the whole
(community) is the sum of its parts and that we’re all in this together.
10 ideas for consideration
So how does one "do news" for
postmodernists? In my opinion, the following ideas are open for discussion:
- Firstly, there IS no news except television (better: "video") news. Pomos
want to see and hear for themselves, not read about it from a distance.
- News must be available 24/7. Gone are the days when people will tune in at a
specific time to be "given" the news.
- There’s no such thing as a newscast in a postmodernist world. Stories must
be available simultaneously, with the viewer able to select at random. Pomos
don’t believe they should have to wait for anything.
- News must not be afraid to present the absurdities and contradictions of
life as parts of the reality of a multi-cultural, diverse world.
- News must include everybody’s perspective, identify the organization’s own
perspective, or give none at all. The artificial journalistic hegemony known as
objectivity is dead. It never was real and Pomos see through it.
- News must give up its obsession with stardom and celebrity. Postmodernists
reject authority and elitism (newscasters and reporters) in favor of
participation and the knowledge acquired therein.
- Reporters could and perhaps should represent the various tribes. This would
provide sort of a global view from which viewers could pick and choose. "Now
what?" is an important question for postmodernists, but only insofar as they can
make up their own minds.
- "Live" is hypercritical, for the Pomo wants to participate more than
anything else.
- News must be interactive, but the goal is participation, not driving viewers
to goals or solutions.
- I believe it’s time for TV stations to spin their news departments out as
wholly owned subsidiary companies and permit them to seek their own distribution
outlets. Create a licensing arrangement with the parent company for broadcast
rights, and let the laws of the market determine who continues and who doesn’t.
Despite their similarities, broadcasters are not Web people, because their
interests conflict. Consequently, TV stations only play with the Internet, and
in so doing, they miss the point of the technology. They also deny and ignore
the primary conduit to the whole postmodernist movement. It will stay that way
unless the news becomes its own master, complete with the option to decide how
best to distribute its product.
Chasing the young demos
Young
people are vastly more postmodern than their parents, and the gap between
generations today is far more than simply one of age. This is critical for
television people to understand, for it offers an identifiable clue as to why TV
News audiences are getting older and older. If you want to catch trout, you must
use trout bait. The currently accepted philosophies of television news will
never be attractive to postmodernist-leaning young people.
The digital era, created by the logic of a modernist world, has done far more
than simply empower young people with knowledge. It is the force accelerating an
enormous cultural shift and leaving broadcast news organizations in a very
fragile position. Like Dorothy, Pomos have cast aside the curtain and revealed
the Wizard for what he really is — a profit-motivated entity that they believe
has fooled people for decades.
To paraphrase Murrow: "We can deny and ignore this shift if we choose, but we
cannot escape responsibility for the consequences."
