Monday, January 27, 2014

The 10 Most E-mailed Stories

Examine the list of the 10 Most E-Mailed Stories on the home page of the New York Times Web site for   Friday, Jan 31. When you consider them as a whole, do any consistent themes or preoccupations (on the part of journalists or readers or both) emerge? What does the list suggest is the primary function of the press in America today (informing, entertaining, rumor-mongering, counseling, editorializing, marketing, etc.)? Why do you think this function predominates (ideological reasons, economic reasons, cultural reasons, political reasons)? How does that make you feel (optimistic, dizzy, despairing) about the direction of the press and the society it serves? Your response is due -- remember, no late or inadequate responses are given credit -- by Sunday, midnight.


 For further provocation, click on links below:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2014/01/the-six-things-that-make-stories-go-viral-will-amaze-and-maybe-infuriate-you.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/public-editor/just-the-facts-maam-no-more.html?hpw&rref=opinion

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/25/1039957/-STUNNING-Comparing-U-S-World-Covers-for-TIME-Magazine

33 comments:

RogerG said...

I actually found the list of the 10 top e-mailed stories to be more legitimate than I thought they would be.

I must note that there are two lists of "top" stories---the "Top 10 E-Mailed Stories" and the "Most Viewed." There was actually a larger amount of 'hard news' stories in the latter. I think the "Most Viewed" story section is a better indicator of how popular a story is. One could argue that the stories that are "Most E-mailed" have been passed along, and therefore have gone viral. However, the stories that are e-mailed would have to be viewed through the NYT website, and would turn up in the "Most Viewed" stories anyway.

The problem with using "Most E-mailed" stories as any type of indicator is that this only takes into consideration one way of passing stories along---stories that are posted to others' pages on Facebook, or tweeted, or forwarded in other types of social media, are not taken into consideration. I feel the only people that would pass stories along through E-mail are the technologically backwards, AKA the elderly. The fact that the number one E-mailed story is an editorial flattering this group seems to prove my point.

The majority of the "Top E-mailed Stories" are commentary-based. There's really only story that approaches hard news, the Pete Seeger story. However, the commentary pieces aren't exactly about Wocka Flocka Flame, either. They are related to hard news, as is the Obamacare Op-Ed, or Edsall's piece about Capitalism. I personally respect these articles, and would probably read them myself even if they were not assigned for the class.

The fact that commentaries on legitimate topics are more viewed than the topics themselves suggest that people want their stories disseminated and annotated by vetted thinkers, as opposed to reading "just the facts" hard news stories and formulating opinions on their own. Of course, I may be wrong, and people might just gravitate to commentaries because the writing style is less harsh and more literary.

However, if we take the first theory into consideration, this means that the primary charges of journalism these days is not only to report the news, but to editorialize it. I am not necessarily opposed to this, since the opposite of editorialized news is "raw" footage or documents without any type of commentary by journalists vetted by the larger Journalism industry.

Though I think "raw," editorialized news has its place, I am reminded of a documentary I once saw in a Journalism class which profiled an editor in the New York Times. In it, he acerbically confronted several editors of "Vice" (which I still actually have a decent opinion of) on a story they did on Cannibalism in The DRC. The story was found to be mostly fictitious, or at least horribly exaggerated, not because the Vice journalists fabricated anything, but because the people they talked to in the DRC were largely lying.

When the NYT editor confronted the Vice editors about this, they tried to defend themselves by saying they reported the news that was presented to them. However, that's not the point. The point is that the Vice editors: a) Should have done more research into the story before interviewing people and b) should have used this information to editorialize the "raw" comments. It's somewhat ironic, but, if the Vice editors had futzed more with the "hard," "raw," news, the story would have been more truthful.

So, in conclusion, I am not at all opposed to the Commentary pieces being so highly e-mailed, since the purpose of the press is not just to present "raw" news, but to editorialize this news for consumption by people who do not have all day to research the stories thoroughly enough to come up with original opinions.

Julia Tyles said...

When looking over the 10 most emailed stories, I notice a theme that most of the stories have to do with “ourselves”. As in, how are we giving ourselves cancer? How can I make marinara sauce better? What can I do to age well? Am I in the new trend when it comes to the bikini line? I feel like most readers read these stories and choose to share them because that’s what readers are interested in, how can they improve themselves. It seems that the function of the press is to counsel or inform people on themselves as oppose to what’s going on in the world. It’s definitely cultural reasons. It seems that America is more interested in America. Even when the Time Magazine covers were compared, the covers in Asia, Europe and South Pacific had to do with things going on around the world. The U.S. covers had to do with, how to split up chores, why anxiety is good for you, and marriage. Honestly, I almost don’t know how to feel. I feel like I should be disappointed that that’s what Americans are interested in, that they don’t want deeper news or what’s going on in the world. Honestly, I can agree with society though because those are the kind of stories that I read. In the article, ‘The Six Things That Make Stories Go Viral Will Amaze, and Maybe Infuriate, You’, they made the point that if “…it’s credible and worthy, it appeals to me, it makes sense”. That’s what most of society will want to read and maybe in the future that’ll change but as of right now this is what society will want.

Unknown said...

When looking at the top 10 most emailed stories the first think I noticed is the stories need titles that are going to make someone want to open them in the first place. The number one story evokes a sense of urgency in just its title alone: “We Are Giving Ourselves Cancer.” Of course people are going to want to read that and share it with everyone they know because it pertains to them and their own personal well-being. The 8th and 9th most emailed stories are the same way, they are going to directly affect the reader and they play on personal emotion and experience.

Moreover people love a sad story, something that will evoke emotion, that’s what the 2nd most emailed story does. The article sets up the scene of this amazing concertmaster who has been attacked after his own “Frankly Music” series and your feel for this man. They stole his violin, and it wasn’t just any old violin! “This is an extraordinary art theft. It is just as extraordinary as if some master criminal crept into the Milwaukee Art Museum and stole several of its most valuable pieces." I mean I know nothing about art or classical music but I want to help this guy!The reader can identify with him.

Most of the emailed stories are not hard news but instead news that grabs the reader’s attention through personal connection rather than harsh facts. I mean Marinara sauce isn't something you would normally find on the front page but there it is as one of the top emailed stories because it's a part of everyday life. People want news about them, they like seeing themselves in the story and that's what the most emailed stories show.

Unknown said...

After mulling over the titles of the top 10 most-emailed stories (which I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised by the absence of an article about Justin Bieber) I noticed two recurring themes: first, a majority of the stories have jazzed-up headlines that intentionally evoke some kind of emotion and curiosity from the reader. For example, the second most shared story is titled “A Violinist’s Triumph is Ruined by Thieves.” Whether the title evokes happy emotions, or sad ones (like this violinist’s TRIUMPH that was heartbreakingly RUINED), Berger’s studies prove that Americans are more than likely to read and share a juicy story oozing with emotion. Let me note that the headlines concocted for the hard news in the top 10, such as “A Middle Eastern Primer”, lack the allure of pathos and the sense of urgency found in the titles of the top op-ed articles. Second, what seems to determine the popularity of an article is the extent to which the reader can relate to and empathize with the story. The most shared story, titled “WE Are Giving Ourselves Cancer” not only evokes fear, but it also speaks directly to the reader, and thus is deemed to be more important because it is relevant to his/her life. It’s similar to listening to a song, and liking it better when we realize we can relate the lyrics to our own lives. In result, it seems that the function of the press has diverted away from the traditional titling and purpose of informing the general public about hard news, and is now geared more towards reporting on the stories that will appeal most to readers: the ones that are the most dramatic and relatable for us Americans and our overbearing sense of “self-compassion.” With that being said, I think that this function predominates because of cultural reasons; and in turn news outlets have begun to reflect on the common American thought: “if it doesn’t affect me, why should I care?” Based on the covers for TIME Magazine in America compared to the ones in other countries, I definitely feel a sense of despair in the direction that the American press is headed. What’s even worse is that I can’t deny I’ve fallen into the same trap of taking interest in reading the self-identification based stories and yes, even guiltily watching LOL cat videos. Although the amount of these stories that cloud the front pages of the news have grown substantially in recent years, I still feel like hard news and reporting information of the world won’t be completely wiped out by the desire to master our marinara sauce.

Unknown said...

I think that there is a consistent theme: what can the world do to help ourselves. More than half of these articles are about the readers getting information to help themselves…and I don’t mean to help them get informed. I think this suggests we would much rather read about something that will help us better our own lives than read to be informed as to what is going on in the world around us. This just shows how completely selfish we have become. We only care about ourselves and “what can you do for me?”
I think that this dominates because it is the way that this generation was raised. I believe that most children were raised with an understanding that they are just entitled to whatever they want, which is a much different way than other generations. I am honestly scared for the way that our society is heading. If “The Older Mind May Just Be a Fuller Mind” makes the news, this says a lot about us. I mean, this proves that the older generations are the ones that are reading and following the news, because this is something that they would want to know about. Plus, the older mind is what is making the news? I would go out on a limb and say that this “Marinara Sauce” article is insulting to our intelligence, but it’s not. We, as a country, put ourselves in this situation. And it does not show signs of improvement.

RogerG said...

Most of what I originally said still holds true after seeing the top e-mailed stories of Jan. 31st. Reading over the other comments, I do agree that a lot of the top stories relate directly to the lives of the readers. This is reflected in the post about Time magazine covers. Fewer global stories were covered then in the international editions. This suggests the truism that Americans are less involved in the greater world.

Though, personally, I am very interested in global news, I can empathize with the yearning to read stories that are directly relatable to the readers lives. One of the international Time covers features news from Myanmar. It can easily be argued that this news does not directly affect the American readers of Time Magazine. The cover featured that week in the American edition was on the subject of marriage, something that most Americans can better relate to, that has more of an affect on their day-to-day existence.

The article posted that lambasted The New York Times for not posting Hard News on the front page was interesting, but I felt it completely missed the point. I think the New York Times has done a wonderful job evolving to the news news environment. The paper has realized that the Twitter and Instagram communities, having far more reach than the staff of the NYT, is taking over the reporting of breaking news. The ANALYSIS of news, however, should still be left to professionals, and that is why so many long-form and feature stories are printed on from page of the NYT.

Unknown said...

Not really surprising. That's how I reacted after looking at the "Top 10 E-mailed Stories." At no.1 we have an article on snowy owls flying south, then we have two Gov.Christie entries,two foreign articles on America's "favorite" foreign region, the Middle East and the rest are concerned with daily lives e.g. "We Are Giving Ourselves Cancer." The fact that hard news is being outnumbered by soft news in the list, shows us that readers are more likely to click on "Birds flying south" than "California Cutts Off Tap to Agencies". Why? Because people don't like thinking too much when it comes to financial related problems. They rather read something that really might never have an impact on them e.g. not everyone has cancer. At the same time I feel journalists have understood this, and bend to the readers demands. Basically both sides lack focus as to what is really newsworthy. The journalists know that if the headline is interesting, they have your click. The article doesn't even need to be insightful. This whole situation makes me feel dizzy, because there is no end in sight. Until people as a whole become more concerned with global matters as opposed to ones related to the self, we will continue to see these trends with the readership and press.

Unknown said...

I thought the top 10 stories were surprisingly well rounded. They examined domestic issues; as the Chris Christie issue, as well as foreign matters like Turkey and Iran. I found the topics to consist of the Middle East, education, government, and health issues. Not a broad spectrum when it comes to foreign matters but not as exclusively American as I expected. I felt somewhat relieved that the stories were not dumb, however only a hand full of them are super hard hitting news. The stories are a bit selfish but not as selfish as I expected. I think it shows Americans are very interested in things that impact their own lives but sometimes find it nice to read about other topics.

Unknown said...

There seems to be an almost perfect split between the stories that could be classified as hard news and those that are definitely features in the top ten list of most emailed stories form the New York Times. In my opinion, this makes sense. People feel the need, as they should, to be informed on the 'important' news like foreign affairs and our own domestic government. But they also like to indulge in a little 'fluff.' This is apparent in the list and seems appropriate, or at lease explainable. It's true, maybe, that the hard news stories should take up the top five, rather than something about an owl being sighted where it doesn't belong, but this reflects us as a population. It is important to keep yourself updated on important topics but for someone who is not particularly interested in keeping up with this kind of news, a headline like "A Bird Flies South, and It's News" might sooner catch their eye and further compel them to click on it. Almost like a guilty pleasure. You know what you should be reading but what you want to read may literally be a different story.

To me, from this top ten list, the primary reasoning for the press is to keep people informed, yet entertained. This may seem like I'm not fully committing to a side, but it's true. The fact that many of the stories are hard news about the government and such, but the top story is about a bird, says a lot about us as Americans. I think people want to say the main purpose of the press is to keep people up to date on the latest developments around the world and in our country, but underneath, some of the filler content really takes center stage.

This is just my interpretation on the list but the feeling it gives me is as I expected. Many of the stories were hard news, so that indicates something promising--that people are still, even in our world of sleaze and tabloid journalism, reading about 'stuff' that really matters and will affect them in the long run. But also, it shows that we like our kicks. We want to be entertained. While the hierarchy in this particular list is a little disturbing, it doesn't make me feel completely despaired. I know this kind of list varies daily but it doesn't seem completely hopeless--I think it could be a lot worse.

Unknown said...

Overall by browsing the most emailed stories i was surprised to see multiple stories that I believed were definitely worth reading as well. As a whole though I believe that a particular theme does come about. Although I cannot say this was true for all the articles, I believe there was a theme of personal interests, rather then hard news radiating in a majority of the stories. It seems more people are viewing stories that have personal views and seemed to be opinionated by the writers. For example "We are giving ourselves cancer" or "Marinara worth Mastering." These stories, I believe, are very opinionated and not important when looking within are society for real news.

Although I have this particular view on some of the stories, I still believe that they are very well written and provide excellent information for the person who is into more reality driven news rather then hard news. I see how the primary function of the press is taking not only a turn, but branching out to connect with many different audiences. Overall
I believe the press in America has took the turn from have being informing, to now being primarily driven on entertaining the reader. Although there was a hand full of articles that were informing, I think they must be able to be written with entertainment in mind. I also believe that marketing plays a huge role in the press. Almost all of the "entertainment news" could be seen as a way to subliminally market onto society. whether it be marketing an ingredient to a sauce or a product that can perhaps reduce the risks of cancer.

As aforementioned, entertainment is what rules the press in America today. Without this aspect I believe that news on the web would not be possible on the scale that it is on now. Overall just from looking at the most emailed stories I believe this aspect predominates pretty much all of the important things in society such as economic reasons, idealogical news, cultural reasons. The reason, in my opinion, that this is happening it because we as Americans are too consumed by entertainment , in the form of technology, reasoning, and the commercialization around us. We are coming slowly to a point of a dystopian culture and society where we universally as a nation are becoming dehumanized.

This overall makes me upset due to the fact that it is ruining what utopian values our society already has. We are losing our opportunity to express ourself from a personal side and instead look to the media around us to do so. As mentioned by professor Good, "our lives are driven off mathematical algorithms that are within our technologies." I believe that there is hope for our society but only under certain conditions. If we mandate ourselves as humans to interact, live, and express ourselves in more humanistic ways, I opportunity the press in America will adjust for the best.

Gianna said...

After looking through the Top 10 Most Emailed Stories it is clear that soft news far outnumbers hard news. Most of these stories consist of topics that would relate “directly” to the lives of the readers like “We Are Giving Ourselves Cancer.” People convince themselves that these are extremely important things to be reading about; forget about the hard news, but to our society that is hard news. There is a reason though that stories about “The Older Mind May Just Be a Fuller Mind” are published, people read them. Just as one of my fellow students has stated journalists have understood what people are more likely to read and write to appease the reader. Stories such as “A Bird Flies South, and It’s News” are about entertainment not about what is actually newsworthy to report on, which in my opinion that is not. The fact that this story is number one on the list though shows exactly what Americans want to hear about. Even though there were multiple stories on the government up there I felt that a few of them (more specifically the ones regarding Governor Christie) aren’t hard-hitting news stories, their almost entertainment. Just as the difference of Time Magazine covers published in America as opposed to Asia, Europe, and the South Pacific depicts, as long as we as a whole show interest in anxiety over global issues of revolution in Egypt nothing is going to change. We can acknowledge this problem but all of society has to recognize the problem if there is going to be any switch in reporting or at least a more hard news focused list of the top 10 most emailed stories of the New York Times.

KellySeiz said...

I took the screenshot very early on Friday morning, so I think that my list differed a lot from others'. Here are the stories that were most e-mailed at 9:55 a.m.:
1.) A Big Advocate of French in New York's Schools: France
2.) We Are Giving Ourselves Cancer
3.) Marinara Worth Mastering
4.) Exercise to Age Well, Whatever Your Age
5.) Obesity is Found to Gain Its Hold in Earliest Years
6.) What Drives Success?
7.) The Oder Mind May Just Be a Fuller Mind
8.) A Mafia Legacy Taints the Earth in Southern Italy
9.) Below the Bikini Line, a Growing Trend
10.) Flipping the Switches on Facebook's Privacy Controls

The only story that could've been considered hard news was No.8. The reason why it was one of the most e-mailed? A child was killed.

Is that really the worldliest we get?

Beyond that single tragic tale of a baby being shot in the head, every other story aims for an audience of one: the reader. America tends to consume only those stories that have a direct effect on them. Very few Americans follow global, national, or even regional politics because the issues are convoluted, the backstories are far too long, and why, might they ask, would they read anything that takes effort when they can indulge in what is essentially the infomercial that plays over and over again after their television programs have concluded? Why be politically active when you can email your equally fat sister/brother/mother/daughter that "Obesity is Found to Gain Its Hold in Earliest Years?" When all you do is sit on a couch watching television, those stories are the only ones relevant to you.

Few Americans participate in political issues - the "World" and "US" sections gather dust in the corner of their screen; the "New York" section gets a click every now and then.

They immediately glom onto the "Fashion & Style" page. They can surf the "Opinion" section for hours. Those things are small and manageable.

Is this what Postman predicted in 1985? Is this what he foresaw?

Mariah Brown said...

The top ten most emailed stories on the NYT website sparked different ideas and notions about its readership and a general sense of the direction the press is going.
The stories that were featured on the list surprisingly were well rounded and offered somewhat diverse topics, such as health issues, foreign affairs and issues with Governor Chris Christie. There were some hard news stories and commentary. Which was good to see. I don’t think there is a big difference between the two, in terms of failing to get people to think critically about their views of society and the role they play in it, or outside of their own selfish needs. This isn’t entirely true for everyone and every publication. The news serves a purpose to inform its readers but how is this accomplished when the news - whether it is commentary or not- is focused on issues that do not get to the core of conflict in the world but rather brushes over it. The people are not informed about how clandestine core conflicts are indirectly affecting them. The news repeats the same repetitive ideas. I feel disconsolate about the direction the press is moving. The press is a business and is misinforming. The press omits the truth, and informs it readers of not what they should really know but what is convenient for society sake.

Unknown said...

After looking over the list of the top 10 most emailed stories; I felt bad and almost appalled that our society has come to where it has. Each of the 10 stories reminded me of headlines I would see on a horrible tabloid magazine. It seems that journalists and readers do not want to focus on the hard facts but rather bits and pieces of mindless information. Judging by the list it seems the main goal of the press is to entertain the public. Stories like Marinara Worth Mastering and Flipping the Switches on Facebook's Privacy Controls do not reflect any ideas or themes of hard hitting news whatsoever. I believe that most people do not want to know the truth and that is why our press and society has become familiar with dumbing down important information. It is truly sad that our news is not centered on what is happening in the world around us but instead on reckless celebrities and odd things found on various social media platforms.

Unknown said...
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Harris Yudin said...

The top ten most emailed stories list further proves that our society as a whole cares a lot more about entertainment and anything that we can relate to than relevant and pertinent information. There seems to be a consistent theme of stories that are more appealing and interesting as opposed to informative. The readers appear just as likely, if not more likely, to read a story about how we are potentially giving ourselves cancer than one about the reoccurring events that are happening in the Middle East. Of course cancer is a very serious issue, but what are the chances that this article has a lot of valuable information that can be used to improve our health? Probably very small. The only pattern to be found on the part of the journalists is that they know what stories will do well, so they write them. Journalists still cover hard news stories all the time, and the blame cannot be placed on them if the readers are less interested in those topics. Yes, they are the ones publishing stories about the garbage that we hear about everyday, but this wouldn't be the case if that wasn't what attracted readers. While the press would like to maintain the idea that its main role is to inform the masses, it no longer appears to be accurate. Mainly to the fault of the readers, the press tends to publish stories that our popular culture-driven minds will be drawn to. Entertainment, marketing and rumor-mongering is what appeals to the public. I think this is as a result of cultural reasons. Our culture today is simply driven by soft news that shouldn't be delivered to us by legitimate news sources, but rather TMZ and various tabloids. I am very pessimistic about the future of the press and the direction it is headed in. Hard news will maintain its place in journalism, but the desire for soft news seems to be growing.

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Is good journalism up to the writer or the reader? Today, journalism focuses on publishing whatever attracts the most attention. The top 10 most e-mailed stories on Friday surprisingly didn’t include the typical pop culture stories that seem to stir up the most conversation today. Instead, these articles targeted the socalled relvence in the world, news that everyone should know and become concerned with. For instance, the number one e-mailed article, "We Are Giving Ourselves Cancer," warns the public that the number of cancer patients in the United States are still inceasing due to the exposure of radiation, not some ludicrous article about Justin Biebier considering fatherhood at age 19.

Some of the other top 10 e-mailed articles like "A Big Advocate of French in New York’s Schools: France," "A Violinist’s Triumph is Ruined by Thieves," "A Middle Eastern Primer," "The Older Mind May Just Be A Fuller Mind," "Exercise to Age Well, Whatever Your Age," and "What Drives Success?," all seem to serve a purpose. While some of these articles were designed to inform readers about topics that we can relate to, others are made to simply inform people about the world that could only be communicated via the press. Overall, these articles convey news for cultural reasons. It is and has always been the job of the press to inform us and make everyone aware of events and situations occurring around the world. It is indeed a technology that unifies us in a way that no other “thing” can do.

We can’t deny that the press in society is changing. Some say for the better while others want to give up all hope and hide in shame. In all, I feel that good journalism is up to the readers- that whatever seems to spark the most interest will be published. However, these top 10 articles still make me feel hopeful, that there is still good journalism out there still being conveyed to the public despite that there are many out there who only want to read about Justin Bieber’s whereabouts.

Unknown said...

When looking at the top emailed list, I am not completely horrified. I must say that a few of them do seem legitimate and news worthy, while the others continue to disappoint me. However, it is important to think of who is actually emailing these articles. I imagine that the people still emailing articles are in the older demographic of readers because the social media aspect of sharing has become prevalent today. So my faith in current society reading the valid pieces of news declines from that idea.
I see a consistent theme in the decline of legitimate news from the journalist part. But I feel that it is the readers’ fault. With the demands from readers for certain content, the journalists are forced to produce such articles. Thus, the majority of the content produced today suggests that the function of the press has shifted from informing to entertaining the reader. I understand that sensationalist journalism has always existed, but I do think a shift has occurred in how we read articles, and what we chose to read. I believe that this shift has occurred largely due to the technology that is available to us today. With modern technology, people are growing lazier. We are relying on technology to do everything for us, and when it fails us, we become aggravated. Not only are we relying on technologies, but we are also letting the social media on these technologies harm us by overusing them. Our attention span is decreasing because of the technology that we all use. For instance, people are going out with their friends, and then sitting on their smart phones checking their Facebook for hours. People are losing their interest in other people, and instead spending hours doing personal promotion and editing themselves on these forums. People are growing themselves through social media, as opposed to growing themselves in real life. I think this is related to the content we chose to read because I believe how we use this technology, is contributing to our short attention span to sit down and read real news that actually informs us. Instead of reading about conflicts in the middle east, we sit and read buzz feeds about topics that are relevant to us, such as reading the top college party schools. We share these entertaining articles and continue to use social media instead of informing ourselves on news worthy content. . What’s scary is that everybody seems addicted to these trends. Even I have partaken in some of it, I feel guilty about it, but I won’t lie. It is interesting to stop and analyze what one reads on a daily basis, but how many people actually do that today?
When I look at the Times article, I want to seriously move to Europe. The covers of the American magazines are pathetic. I think it does reflect Americans as opposed to the journalists. I believe we are the ones directing this content because we are the buyers. And if Time is selling these, and people are buying, then they will continue to produce what sells.

Unknown said...

10 Most E-Mailed List:
1. A Big Advocate of French in New York’s Schools: France
2. We Are Giving Ourselves Cancer
3. A Violinist’s Triumph Is Ruined by Thieves
4. Marinara Worth Mastering
5. Exercise to Age Well, Whatever Your Age
6. What Drives Success?
7. The Older Mind May Just Be a Fuller Mind
8. Obesity Is Found to Gain Its Hold in Earliest Years
9. Below the Bikini Line, a Growing Trend
10. Flipping the Switches on Facebook’s Privacy Controls

This list suggests that the primary function of the press in America today might be mixed between marketing at times and informing. Rumoring also plays a part. The list shows mostly articles pertaining to health, fads, and food. You don't really see any political informative articles, except maybe the first one about NY schools. I think that more people these days definitely have interest in issues that are not as deep or thought-provoking. They want to know what is popular in mainsteam as opposed to important political issues. The direction of our press makes me very nervous about the future of our generations to come. Even many of my friends are not informed on important issues that they should know. Who will be making important decisions in the future of our country if no one is informed?

Unknown said...

Friday is typically a day in which people tend to circulate the most internet content, being that it is the end of the work week. The stories which were "most emailed" on Friday 1/31/14 for the New York Times were of a different quality then I expected. Some serious stories mixed with some lighter reading.
The highest ranking story emailed was regarding CT scanning and hazardous exposure to radiation. This article was followed by the second ranked story about the theft of a 16th century Violin from a Milwaukee orchestra member. Surprisingly political news did not rank too high among the most emailed. The few political stories that made the top 10 were very specific and dealt with very narrowed topics. Such as the New Jersey Governor's scandal regarding the lane closures on the GW Bridge,to Middle eastern foreign policy and Turkeys economic recovery plans. However those stories rank in the middle of the human interest style journalism that dominates the rest of the list. Friday being a day which concludes the work week, and begins the weekend, readers and e-mailers usually send out articles that reflect their interest or the interest of the intended reviver. I found the rankings to be more of a light reading as the ranks descended, with the tenth article about Marijuana reform. However it is clear that the NYT press served many different purposes throughout this rank, covering topics from health, local and world politics, economics, bird migration, even drug reform. It seems that there is no general theme to the most emailed stories of Friday 1/31/14 except that they are just generally interesting works of journalism.

- ALEX SCHAFER

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

The few political stories that made the top 10 were very specific and dealt with very narrowed topics. Such as the New Jersey Governor's scandal regarding the lane closures on the GW Bridge,to Middle eastern foreign policy and Turkeys economic recovery plans. However those stories rank less high then the human interest style journalism that dominates the rest of the list. Friday being a day which concludes the work week, and begins the weekend, readers and e-mailers usually send out articles that reflect their interest or the interest of the intended reviver. I found the rankings to be more of a light reading as the ranks descended, with the tenth article about Marijuana reform. However it is clear that the NYT press served many different purposes throughout this rank, covering topics from health, local and world politics, economics, bird migration, even drug reform. It seems that there is no general theme to the most emailed stories of Friday 1/31/14 except that they are just generally interesting works of journalism.

Unknown said...

Before looking at the top 10 most emailed stories, I expected most if not all to be entertaining stories with shocking and exaggerated headlines. However, I came to see that there was a variety of stories. One similarity I noticed was that these stories all focused on one thing/had one purpose; how readers can better improve themselves and their lives.

Based on this list, it seems that journalists are still trying to inform, but not in a news type of way. Instead they want to inform their readers how to improve their lives, what is affecting their lives etc. Why? Because that's what most readers seem to care about. If something doesn't affect somebody, then it doesn't matter to them. For example, the "Exercise to Age Well, Whatever Your Age" story would be a story readers care about because they want to find out how to maintain their health and age well. It's something that people seem to struggle with as they get older.

Tying in with the previous discussion, I feel that this list shows the press wants to inform readers in a personal and entertaining way. To be honest, none of those articles were informing readers of actual news. For example one of the stories was "Flipping the Switches on Facebook's Privacy Settings" What? Who cares? Apparently readers care because it's what's being emailed.

Unfortunately it seems the press is going downhill in serving its purpose. Why? Because society and readers don't care to be informed anymore. We rather read about what this celebrity is doing with their life instead of what's happening across the country. I think it's due to changes int technology and society.

Anonymous said...

1.) A Big Advocate of French in New York's Schools: France
2.) We Are Giving Ourselves Cancer
3.) Marinara Worth Mastering
4.) Exercise to Age Well, Whatever Your Age
5.) Obesity is Found to Gain Its Hold in Earliest Years
6.) What Drives Success?
7.) The Oder Mind May Just Be a Fuller Mind
8.) A Mafia Legacy Taints the Earth in Southern Italy
9.) Below the Bikini Line, a Growing Trend
10.) Flipping the Switches on Facebook's Privacy Controls

This is the list of most emailed stories that I found around 10:30am on Friday. What I found interesting about this list is a lot of them had to do with getting in shape/health. Numbers 2,4,5,and 9 all have something to do with a persons body getting in shape or how exercise can help improve ones health. From the way this list looks, I think that the function of these stories is to inform people of what is going on but about more entertaining things. There is really not a story that seemed to stand out to me as "serious". The one story that I couldn't help but laugh at was number 8, A Mafia Legacy Taints the Earth in Southern Italy. I honestly thought where the heck did this story come from and why is it so important to people? There are so many other things that take priority over this story but yet people are sharing it like the flu. I think that one of the main reasons that these stories are on the Top 10 is because of Americas lack of drive to learn things that aren't entertaining. We have a huge problem with reading about things that do not interest us. And that is what the news is all about today. All about entertaining, never about informing. Because people will not pay attention to the stories that mean the most. News outlets therefore publish stories that people would rather read just so they can keep subscribers and ratings up. Like number 3 on the list, Marinara worth Mastering. Why is this story news worthy, or better yet top 10 worthy? It has no value to our society, it is about freaking marinara! By looking at this list it really makes me scared for the future. All of the stories that we are going to be reading soon are going to be about Miley Cyrus or Justin Bieber. Because that is what the people want to read about.Not about the wars, or the economy. Just entertainment for the people who are lacking common sense.

Unknown said...

Many of the articles seem to be beneficial to whoever is reading like the article Exercise to Age Well, whatever your age. Or What Drives Success. Others are informal like We are Giving Ourselves Cancer and When Biography Trumps Substance. There is information and entertainment per-say for anyone. The list suggest the primary function of press is entertaining and counseling, maybe a little informing. Like the article The Older Mind may just be a fuller mind is very informal inquiring the use of science and research on aging. But the article about marinara sauce would be considered counseling.

The emails leave a lot of room for comments. In my opinion its for cultural reasons. We are more interested in ourselves. Personally it is kind of disappointing that these are the stories we choose and read, rather than being updated about what's truly going on and not these distractions.

Unknown said...

When I consider the list as a whole I think the theme of curiosity occurs on the part of the reader. I think this theme is present because of people wanting to know what the story says when they see the headline of these articles. For examples, the story “We Are Giving Ourselves Cancer” would attract the curiosity of readers because of unfortunately how common people are forced to deal with cancer themselves or with a loved one, people want to know ways they can reduce their risk. Another example is “Christie Linked to Knowledge of Shut Lanes” because people want to know what exactly Gov. Christie knew.

The list suggests that the primary function of the press today is to inform, but inform in numerous ways. The press can inform its readers about what is going on in the world, like in the Christie story, so the people can be kept up to date with what’s going on. And the press can inform its readers about ways where they can improve how their health and lifestyle, like in the cancer article.

I think this function predominates because of cultural reasons. People are naturally curious, so they want to know want to be informed and know what’s going on in the world. In regards to the article about cancer and articles like that, people are curious about ways the ways they can improve their lives.

This doesn’t really make me anything about the role of the press because I believe that people will always read what interests them, regardless of the topic. It’s up to the journalist to make the story interesting, so then read it.

Joe Nikic said...

1. Severe Drought Has U.S. West Fearing Worst
2. Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Actor of Depth, Fearless in His Choice of Roles, Dies at 46
4. Are You My Cousin? (Opinion on if everyone was related)
5. The Transformation of Lady Edith
6. In China, ‘Once the Villages Are Gone, the Culture is Gone
7. Good enough? That’s Great (Long-term relationships going stale)
8. Maturity’s Victories (Peyton Manning road to Super Bowl)
9. Raiding Japan on Fumes in 1942, and Surviving to Tell How Fliers Did It
10. Dylan Farrow’s Story

I messed up and forgot to check the list on Friday. So my Top 10 Most E-mailed Stories list is from today, Sunday. The list is just not that surprising or interesting to me. I was expecting a wide variety of stories with everything from world news to national news to entertainment and on. I feel like no matter when I look at the list it will have a different variety of stories. The NY Times is a publication read by millions of different people with different opinions and morals of what is important to them. Even though I do feel like the entertainment business has taken over large portions of the press, there are still plenty sensible people who care about traditional news. The stories about Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lady Edith, and Dylan Farrow were the only ones about celebrities. I think that is ok. If the list consisted of Justin Bieber at number one followed by nine other articles about celebrities then I would have a little less hope for the future of what the press’ purpose is. It seems to me that the press is still delivering actual news and people are actually reading it. Readers sometimes read strictly for pleasure so choosing an article about your favorite television show or favorite actor occasionally is perfectly acceptable, in my opinion. I do believe that sometimes informing comes second to entertainment but as long as the press is strongly informing then I remain content with their role in society (but barely).

Unknown said...

The first article was an opinion article entitled "We Are Giving Ourselves Cancer." This was a very interesting article that mentions the overabundance of CT scans, as well as uncontrolled dosages which could be the result of the rise in cancer rates across the country. The eerily named title of the article does drawn in the reader, and some of it's contents may shock you, but the author sums it up by suggesting their ways of fixing it.

The second article is about the theft of a rare violin. The violinist was walking to his car when he was shot with a stun gun and robbed of his priceless instrument. The police, FBI, and INTERPOL are involved looking for this artifact. The article consists of not only the story, but the history of other stolen violins throughout the years. However, the tone of the piece is a little depressive.

The next article is another opinion piece about the republican party's response to the state of the union address. This is just a political commentary of yet another political commentary. The piece brings about interesting points but because it is an opinion article, it comes off as subjective and perhaps biased depending on the reader.

The next article mentions the recent migration patterns of the snowy owls. These birds have been flying further and further south, and it's making headlines in some places. Much like the violin piece, it not only comments on the current situation but provides historical context as well.

Chris Christie was in the news once again as the person who oversaw the lane closures on the George Washington Bridge said that Christie had prior knowledge of the closures. This is has been the major topic of political news outlets across the nation. Though the situation is primarily a regional affair, it has become national news. This is something interesting to note as this potential republican presidential candidate is put on the main stage of national news.

We have another two opinion articles on two different subjects, a piece on the French governments influence on French Education in New York, an article about mental health, and a piece on the diminishing bodies of water in Iran.

Unknown said...

(continued)



My first opinion when looking at this list is how interesting the Times takes into email as a form of communication. To the average college student, when we want things to be shared via the internet, we use social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter. So I believe first off that there is a certain demographic that has an influence on this list. Another thing I was expecting to see in these articles is what I normally see from news outlets; a lot of negativity. The first article was alarming and I thought it would be a bad start to the list, but the ideas were pleasantly conveyed. Also, it ended on a happier note than the title would suggest. The other articles have a negative aura, but are mostly objective and allow for the facts to be printed without bias interfering (unless it's an opinion article). These articles are informative in most instances, with a small touch of editorial work thrown in. Based on this list, the press is to report the facts, and even sometimes explain how they look at those facts. I think this process exists because of the American ideal of stating our opinions on things. Some of the American public is highly interested in what other think about certain issues. This way of culture drives the press to react and include their own takes on the headlines.

This makes me feel a little disoriented because of a major problem; bias. If a news source wants to include opinions in their reports, their should be a clear distinction between what is fact and what is a belief. The Times does a good job of this, but this is for the press in general. The role of the press should be used for facts first, and then opinion. I'm scared that certain people may confuse the two, and thus lead people to say things that are simply not true. But to reflect on my earlier point of this list having a demographic; I believe those who are reading these articles are intelligent enough to distinguish the two.

Unknown said...

I mistakenly forgot to take a snapshot of the Top 10 list from the NY Times for this assignment on Friday. But mostly when it comes the viewing what is on the list, sometimes (even mostly) is based the the stories from what you topic you enjoy to view daily. Or it shows the top 10 stories of whats mostly viewed everyone. Versus the news thats going on today, you'd be going articles towards the story behind Philip Seymour Hoffman's death, stories from the evens before and after the Superbowl, etc. Most of these article would be informative and/or for entertainment (depending on the topic)

Unknown said...

Looking at the list it is clear that Americas like to read stories that are usually scandalous, voyeuristic, "buzz worthy" or involve cute animals. I would not say that this is a commentary on the function of American press but rather a commentary on how Americans value the press. People do not want to be intellectually challenged or made uncomfortable, which is ideally (in my opinion) the function the press is meant to play - presenting harsh truths to inspire change. Americans have become overly sensitive to adversity of any kind. When a journalist (or really anyone) forces them to face reality be it through speech, writing, photos etc. they either view it as a personal attack or choose to blatantly disregard it and remain in comfortable, secure ignorance. Everyone seems to have a self generating sense that personal comfort is sacred and cannot be infringed on for whatever reason. They don't want to be informed so much as coddled, which is why a cat video is shared to thousands while an article on civilian deaths in Afghanistan goes unread. I understand their reasoning. Why jeopardize the comfort I've tried so hard to maintain to remind me of the ugliness of the world? However, the denial of that ugliness and the prioritization of the self by so many is what bothers me. So yes, part of me is depressed that America seems to be allergic to the truth and I'm the only person who finds value in my work. But another part of me is reminded that someone has to do it lest we all succumb to "comfort food news", and I know I'm in it for the right reasons and maybe I will be able to inform the person who will actually be inspired to do something.

Unknown said...

I honestly disagree with a lot of the posts--only on the point that the news articles weren't so bad. Yes, the articles weren't too sensational or "potato-chipy" but they aren't necessarily the most newsworthy. Many had to do with things like the keys to success and obesity. After checking again tonight, the list has changed for the better, so my faith isn't completely destroyed. Basically, I think that the top emailed stories could be more about pressing political issues both home and abroad related to international tensions and things of that nature. Overall I think this yearning for more entertaining and "interesting: stories is due to things like Facebook and twitter. People want their news faster, and even when they get the news in a timely fashion they demand it be entertaining and short. How are journalist supposed to convey a balanced story under such rigid restrictions imposed by the public. This reliance on pleasing the masses is in part due to the dying of printed news, and the fact that newspapers are struggling. That's no secret. I think though that the key to surviving though the changes isn't to pander to the public's every whim, but to be different and dare to stand out by saying "no, this is what's important." After watching the super bowl tonight, which, admittedly, I enjoyed and will enjoy every year, I do agree that it is a very good example of how we are "amusing ourselves to death." We won't spend five minutes to learn about whats going on Syria, but we'll sit in front of a television watching comedic commercials for four hours.