Dorothy and Smart Phones: Then and Now

14 Apr

Dorothy and Smart Phones: Then and NowNews, views and commentary on social issues of importance in today’s crazy world will be forthcoming in the Mark Shaw Books blog. Best of all, you’ll get to weigh in with your comments, suggestions, criticisms and opinions for certain.
Here’s a lively topic for consideration – smart phones, good, bad, or ugly? Most people, especially of the younger generation believe these phones are technological advances of the best kind, permitting instant access to current events but best of all the ability to communicate with human beings from near and far. One thing for certain, there are those who would rather lose an arm or a leg (just kidding) than lose their smart phone.

This said, the downside to smart phones runs aplenty as well. For one thing, with the internet racing news across the globe at a rapid pace, too much “fake news” is generated instantly as newsmakers and those who provide the news attempt to get the scoop without sources being checked and re-checked to make sure the news is credible.

In Dorothy Kilgallen’s day and age, the news came through print, the good old fashioned newspaper. There wasn’t the rush to get the story first but to get it right. She was truly a reporter of integrity, checking her sources carefully before printing word one. That’s why she was so respected, why the NY Post called her “the most powerful female voice in America.”

So, here’s the question for debate: Is the smart phone friend or foe when it comes to providing the news, and if it’s a foe, what improvements can be made to make it a friend?

Please post your comments below.