That's My Opinion

 My first exposure to the work of Hunter S. Thompson was when I watched Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas when I was in high school. While visually striking with some memorable performances, it did not do a lot with explaining Thompson's huge impact on journalism as we know it. Thompson was known for inventing "gonzo" journalism. He would be heavily involved with the subject he was writing about. This gave audiences a firsthand encounter, something that did not exist in journalism at the time. His most famous example of this was when he spent a year living with the Hells Angels motorcycle club. Readers felt as if they were getting an "authentic" experience unlike anything else since Thompson was an active participant in the group.  Nowadays we are used to journalists spending time with their subjects in order to get a better palpable story. Thompson's name is not thrown around nearly as much as it used to be. Today he really only lives on thanks to Johnny Depp...

 Over the past several years, the way the internet is used has changed. Today, the internet is people's main source of news. Greatly outweighing physical news media. The internet has definitely changed journalism for better or worse. Traditional journalism is somewhat hard to come by in this day and age. Journalists these days must be on at least one social media platform. As opposed to only appearing in media like newspapers and magazines. Some argue that the internet has replaced traditional journalism since people rely on social media platforms as their source of news. While the internet could also be seen as a complement to journalism. It is a different vehicle to display information and a different way to absorb said information. The internet has changed many industries, news media and journalism being the standouts. Will the way we consume media continue to evolve over the next decade or two? Feel free to sound off in the comments.

  The pandemic has done extensive damage to multiple industries. Many of them have to rely on government assistance in order to stay afloat. Over 2,000 companies within the newspaper industry have received funding via the paycheck protection program. While this is just a small amount of the 5 million-plus loans sent out to small businesses. The Paycheck Protection Program was established as a part of the CARES Act. This was created in order to aid small businesses. Since the pandemic had them on the verge of closure. I am not sure if these PPP loans are going to actually save the newspaper industry. It was already starting the wain in popularity and the pandemic did not help.

  Nowadays, people seem to dread the "d-word". That word being discourse, of course. With people more divided than ever in this current political climate, political discussions seem to be the last thing on anyone's mind. This can be partially blamed on the rise and popularity of social media. We are also in the age of misinformation. Propaganda and conspiracy theories are able to run rampant and spread easily on the internet. One often-referenced example of this is the Q-Anon phenomenon . They gain popularity via social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc. Social media has allowed people to only view information that suits their agenda. This has caused people to be reluctant to venture outside of their little bubbles of political praxis. Far-right people only expose themselves to those with matching agendas. While left-leaning people tend to align more with leftist agendas on social media. There are no productive discussions from differing sides being had anymore....