In reflecting for this assignment, I’ve come to realize that my media pyramid is not as healthy and balanced as I would like it to be. The bottom of my pyramid, I would call social media. I am constantly connected to Facebook and Twitter through my laptop and my iphone. When I think back to “how did I first hear about this event?” the answer is usually through a Facebook status that got to me before my news RSS feeds. The beauty (and horror) of social media is that you don’t the approval of the Associated Press to publish anything. It’s all about who knows what first. Twitter was abuzz with the death of Joe Paterno 16 hours before it actually happened.
This leads me to to my next level of my media pyramid which is news. Broad, I know. Let me be more specific. I subscribe to USA TODAY and CNN’s RSS feeds, so I like to think of myself as informed as 140 characters will let me be until I research the whole story. My browser homepage is USATODAY.com, so I skim the front page headlines when I wake up before switching to my social sites. I don’t spend too much time reading articles in the morning–I fill the gaps in my day with news. I’ll check my news apps when I have downtime in between classes or at night before I go to sleep. I read newspapers at night. Usually the Washington Post. It may make me a day behind on the days events, but I think it’s a nice way to unwind.
The third level of my media pyramid I would call entertainment. Youtube videos, a little netflix and the occasional Jeopardy! episode takes up a decent amount of my time. I don’t watch too much TV, my DVR has pretty much gone to waste. I only keep it to around to record Top Chef once a week.
