It is true and sad that physical news papers are slowly dying along with the older generations. This being said I have grown up my whole life with a newspaper on the breakfast table everyday. As a younger kid I can admit I didn't read it except the cartoons and the ads that came with it. My generation gets most of their news from apps and secondary things on their phone. For me, I get my information in many different ways. If we are talking about local news, most likely The Statesman is what I will see it in, or hear it from my parents after they have read it. In a more local setting I would get it from the Itemizer-Observer. It is our local newspaper that comes on Wednesday's and covers Monmouth-Independence, Dallas, and surrounding small towns that do not have a news source because they are too small. My town is kinda of an everyone knows everyone town so another way you hear news or things that do not pertain to the general population is by word of mouth. Such things as, "Did you hear the coffee shop is closing down". Local news is super important to me and should be to everyone because it is LOCAL! It is happening in your own back yard. Things that can affect you or change the way you do things are in your local news. If you get it from a local newspaper, there is an assumption that it is credible because it is a newspaper company and they are supposed to have credible sources and stories.
Publications are now having things you have to subscribe to for you to be able to get the full story, or to get their full service. It is a way to keep the business afloat due to the mass influx of news people can get at their fingertips. Personally I do not subscribe and pay money to any publications. They can have more stories and things that I might miss day to day but the amount of free news the public can now get is crazy. As I grow older and have more money to purchase a subscription I might but if news continues the way it is now I probably won't.
When it comes to being informed about current events I would have to rank myself at a 2.5 or 3. It does seem low and I know what you're thinking, do I live under a rock with all of the tools I am exposed to? Well here is why I say that. When it comes to some mainstream things such as music, sports, new movies, and such things I am on the ball. I know a lot of things happening in that area. Local events and things going on in town I am pretty well informed but sometimes it slips between my eyes. The thing I have to say I, and I feel like a lot of kids my age do not get enough information thrown towards us is legislation, and elections. I cannot say how many times a ballot has shown up at my house and I don't know a single name on the ballot. Part of this is I believe we are not the target audience for politicians. We are still young and don't "know" anything about what should be going on. With new candidates that are younger that should change.
The "Fake News" storm is in full blown mode right now. Personally i will hear someone say fake news in my daily life. Mainly in a joking way but who used to ever say that? No one did. President Trump has brought a new term and it is almost a weapon too. Now before I say this, I will say there are some stories out there that are not accurate. President Trump uses this coined term as a easy out. If a story comes up that is harsh towards him or policies that he supports it is almost automatic that we will hear "FAKE NEWS" out of him. It is a defense mechanism, and because it has been used so much that stories that come out don't really affect us now. Even if they are somewhat crazy like the lawyer recording how to pay off a girl to stay hush hush about an affair.
I have to agree that the president is doing a disservice to journalism and free press. To start with, faith in the press is at an all time low right now. With news organizations being called out for fake stories and the extreme amount of polarization going on in the country, people aren't comfortable with the accuracy of the news they are getting. Also, the president has called out organizations that they should be shut down and reports ignored, and removed from places is a large infringement on the first amendment.
Even though I can say I do not have a similar view as president Trump, there does need to be more accountability for journalism these days. Not all stories are false but with a world where the first to break the story gets the cake, people rush things and maybe some of the story isn't all correct or it was too early and the whole thing is wack. Accountability is a great thing to have, and everything should have it. Heck, our founding fathers made a system with three branches to check on each other because they knew that needed to happen. It seems a little bit pessimistic but as we know it the democracy system in the U.S. is in fact starting to fail. With the amount of polarization going on and the balance of wealth decreases, the pillars are starting to fall.
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