A Geometric Shape?

My interpretation of Jeff Jarvis’ “press sphere” depicts news in circulation as information that anybody can create. Whereas news came from a proper source in the past, nowadays news can be generated by the government, companies, or even peers. He describes news in the past as, “news through the filter of the press to us with few other options.” Evidently, we all know that isn’t true anymore. There is news everywhere we go now including on billboards, pop-up ads on the internet, and verbally through word of mouth, radio, and other.

Although I accept his description and model, I was confused when I first read his blog post and saw the model because I interpreted the press as a secondary source that professionally published information such as the magazines or television news stations. I didn't consider people in my life a part of the ‘press’ even though they have Facebook pages, cell phones, and email addresses. They share information and news as accurately as other sources. I think I had difficulties accepting peers in this manner because I grew up in a time where technologies like cell phones and the internet were very newly innovated. I lived through the transition to this wide use of technology for communication so it did not strike me odd until now.

I can see how his model of the “press sphere” applies to the news that I have read. In personal experiences with the news whether it be on blogs or the New York Times, the news covers topics like politics, business, and a variety of personal interests. Moreover, this imagery of the press as a sphere implies that the press portrays the news uniformly over a vast variety of topics.