Republic+2.0,+Sunstein

=**Republic.com 2.0 by Cass Sunstein**=
 * Chapter 1 The Daily Me**

In Chapter one, I really liked how it talked about how in our generation we have a perfect media. How our media is so sorted out and selected, we can pick what we want to see, hear, and read about. It's true, we have generated a perfect media by letting the media know what we want and do not want. Everyone obviously has their own opinion on what kind of news they are interested in. The news is spread out to where you can "read your own magazines and newspapers with only things you want to know in them". As we talked about in class, selective hearing is a big part of news. I disagreed with the part that spoke about how liberal people don't listen or hear news. Anytime you walk outside of your house you can hear news. Whether it's radio, driving by a billboard, or even answering your phone, there is news everywhere. Liberal people may not reading magazines or newspapers and may have no interest in the internet, but they get news in their own way.


 * Today people read what they want to read, people are going to watch the news when they want to watch the news... and that is, normally when something big is going on. Whether it may be that our president is talking on the news about some new change he plans on making, or something totally opposite like young teens passing away in a drunk driving car accident, we're going to watch what sounds interesting and what catches our eyes. Sunstein points all these facts out. Our society has come to the point where we only care if it is BIG news or something really interesting on, not debates or who has better points about politics. It would be nice to see people wanting to learn about all the not so noticeable things in life but most of the time, that's just not going to happen. **

The author starts off the chapter by discussing the different types of news people are interested in; how in modern day society with the availability of the internet and other media there is no need to pay attention to anything but the news "you" want to know about. "You" can virtually create your own newspaper. The "communications market" including the //Wall Street Journal// has moved toward a "utopian picture" where any viewer/reader can create their perfect newspaper. People can type into Google "personalized newspaper" and thousands of sites come up for people who can't possibly read all of the news that happens every day. The author stresses the point that with all the new media and the ability to individualize information we are creating a "filter" that will ultimately change the way we govern ourselves and our world. He points out that a "pre-made generated newspaper" doesn't expose us to information that is new, which is essential to democracy. He believes that "mass media" and the exposure to multiple unplanned information is dying, and was a short period in media history. Pointing to the facts he notes the difference in the amount of newspaper circulation, in 1930 the daily newspaper in one household was 1.3, and fell to 0.50 by 2003.

Filtering information based on interest level or personal opinion, is nothing new. People do it all the time so they aren't overwhelmed with information. Many forms of media are specialized to target a specific audience. However, general interest intermediaries, such as newspapers, magazines and certain TV news shows, provide opportunities for people to learn things they would have never looked for individually. The problem is that since people have more media to choose from than ever before, said general interest intermediaries have become less influential than in previous generations.Filtering information is continent for many people, but it is also dangerous. Being only exposed to like minded people with the same view leads to extremism and polarization. Our society would become much more divided by labels and this could even result in violence.

In today’s society, people have tendencies to pay specific attention to news that they want to hear, or that directly relates to them and their situation. Sunstein points out how obviously and quickly this tendency is growing. With the ability to create web pages of only news and information you want to see, and even search engines that take you directly to the facts you want, citizens aren’t getting the broad overview and variety of information they may have gotten through simply the newspaper in the past. With the huge aid of technology, the way we obtain news is constantly changing and evolving. Sunstein makes a valid point about how this century, we could see an even more massive movement in our sources of news. In choosing what news we read, we choose are own experiences (more or less) and we choose what type of people that we socialize with. This serves as more of an issue than a positive thing. The author quotes: "Without shared experiences, a heteroge­neous society will have a much more difficult time in ad­dressing social problems. People may even find it hard to understand one another. Common experiences, emphatically including the common experiences made possible by the media, provide a form of social glue" (9). It seems to me that we live in a really intolerant time. We are given the ultimate control over what information we receive, retain and respond to and many people struggle to understand other peoples point of view. The quote holds to be very true, in that, without forming some sort of common understanding about social issues and current events, we will never be able to come to a sound conclusion.

To me, I found chapter one to be fascinating, since it discussed how people can sensor themselves through personalizing all of their news and ways of life. In the present day with the internet, you can read what you want to read about without having to deal with news that you “do not want to see” or may think you do not want to see. Through narrowing down the news to only a few topics, people cannot see other points of view or even other stories of the world. For example, if you read only conservative articles or television programs, you will never understand how liberals are trying to fix certain problems, even if what they are doing is better than what the conservatives are doing. Another example of this is if you only read news about basketball, you will never know about the problems of our world, such as the oil leak in the gulf or politics in the United States. The reading states that this could affect democracy by making it so people no longer think for and govern themselves, since they will be fed information on only a select few things. Sunstein says there are two main points to free expression and democracy; people should be exposed to topics they would not necessarily personally choose to explore, and people in a society should all have a range of common experiences. For these two things to come to fruition, people must read about a variety of news so they can share their opinions with other people, and therefore learn about the problems of our country and world. Democracy is constantly building upon itself to further improve the lives of its citizens, and without the public knowing about the current events of our nation, we cannot move forward as a democracy. This is why Sunstein says it is vital for people to evenly distribute their personal news coverage to a variety of topics, so as to allow our country to grow. The author beings chapter two by outlining the reasons why free speech and free press are not luxuries but are necessities for a well structured society. Sunstein boldly states that in a country with free speech and press there should be no starvation due to famine. This is because of the fact that in a country with free press the government officials should be pressured by the people to ensure that everyone has access to food. Sunstein then expands on this to include damage due to other natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes.If freedom is genuinely protected then there would be greater communication between the people and their government thus making the government more accountable for taking care of its people during crisis.
 * Chapter 2 Social Glue and Spreading Information**

Sunstein moves on to talk about the value of shared experiences and the spread of information once it has been acquired by one or more people. He states in the text that "There is a connected point. Information has a special property: when anyone of us learns something, other people, and perhaps many other people, are likely to benefit from what we have learned." Basically vocalizing the importance of spreading news and information to others around you. I agree with Sustein when when he says that every country needs freedom of speech and press. A lot of people might think that America is bad because comedians can make fun of their own presidents without getting in trouble. People in the US have the freedom of drawing Barrack Obama with huge ears. They are allowed to make jokes about him putting a "KFC" in the white house. Americans are allowed to do all this but which a lot of people think is wrong, but then again how many people will tell you that America is the best country in the world. Without freedom of speech or press the leaders of the nation don't know what they are doing wrong. North Korea will never improve unless someone stands up to Kim Jong-il (then again they don't have any freedom at all so they don't even know any better.) Its called corrective criticism here in the US. Thats why so many people migrate to America; to enjoy the freedom we all withhold. So i do agree when Sustein labels freedom of speech and press and luxuries.