Central Question: How has the transition from print newspapers to online newspapers affected the ways in which Americans produce, receive, absorb, analyze, and participate in daily news coverage?

Vote.com- Dick Morris
Morris’s thesis is, essentially, the following:
• Due to the rise the Fifth Estate, the public will demand greater depth of story and politicians will be forced to bow to these demands
• The news will no longer be dictated and distributed by only a few top journalists and/or editors
• The Internet will destroy the bi-partisan nature of American politics

However, Morris also acknowledges that the Internet’s ability to do these things will be dictated by its financial viability. In his book, Dick Morris gauges a news-site’s financial viability by the following equation: Visitors • Visits • Impressions per Visit = Total Impressions.

According to Morris, those websites with the most Total Impressions can sell the most advertisements, and are, therefore, the most financially viable.

Conclusions:

1-Though I think there is some truth to Morris's this thesis, it also remains largely unachieved. I think that what we have seen, instead, is that though the Internet has certainly become a tool of the masses, it has also been wildly misused by the masses. Though many thought the Internet would give the public the opportunity to call bs, it has also given the public the opportunity to create bs.

2- I do agree with Morris that the Internet has the potential to weaken bi-partisan politics. The problem, however, comes with the fact that the Internet allows us complete freedom in conveying a dismay with the news venues it has created. We have corporate-controlled news venues that sell us the news, and news venues run by individuals or small organizations that respond in anger, inundating the public with an overwhelming amount of messages. Where is the compromise we need?

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