here's just a quick blip on my mental radar screen that perhaps many in this community might share with me...
do you think that in this world which is being "shrunk" more and more by advances in communication, a world in which information is becoming more global than ever before, we will soon see news organizations adopting a more detailed format for the dateline in their stories?
to those who don't know, the "dateline" of a news piece is the not just the date it was filed, but (more important for what i'm talking about here) the location from where the news is originating. thus, in an article like this...
... "hollywood" would be the dateline. which is all well and good for most people in the country and the world at large, since it happens to be a well-known place. however, with more and more news (even from second-rate and third-rate "local news" organizations) being posted online... and with international press being linked to by people on bulletin boards, blogs, and in IRC channels... we're starting to see news stories which are widely-read but have datelines like "Springville" (which could be any one of a dozen cities anywhere in the country) or "Kyrksæterøra" (which people realize is a city nowhere in this country... but can't figure out much more than that)
i'll often be given a link, read the story, be interested in where it's happening, and then have to try to check the main page of whatever web site is hosting it in order to determine the organization's parent city, state, country, etc.
would it be too much to ask for news wire services to start formatting their dateline like this...
ok, rant over. i imagine we'll eventually see this change made. i just wish it would happen faster.
do you think that in this world which is being "shrunk" more and more by advances in communication, a world in which information is becoming more global than ever before, we will soon see news organizations adopting a more detailed format for the dateline in their stories?
to those who don't know, the "dateline" of a news piece is the not just the date it was filed, but (more important for what i'm talking about here) the location from where the news is originating. thus, in an article like this...
HOLLYWOOD—Pretentious retards just can't get enough of the Prius hybrid. The hottest selling model by Toyota, the Prius has taken the cappucino crowd by storm with a blah blah blah oil blah blah blah mileage blah blah cost blah blah expensive sunglasses blah blah blah actors, agents, and lawyers blah blah blah smog blah blah blah 45 MPG, 60 HP blah blah blah
... "hollywood" would be the dateline. which is all well and good for most people in the country and the world at large, since it happens to be a well-known place. however, with more and more news (even from second-rate and third-rate "local news" organizations) being posted online... and with international press being linked to by people on bulletin boards, blogs, and in IRC channels... we're starting to see news stories which are widely-read but have datelines like "Springville" (which could be any one of a dozen cities anywhere in the country) or "Kyrksæterøra" (which people realize is a city nowhere in this country... but can't figure out much more than that)
i'll often be given a link, read the story, be interested in where it's happening, and then have to try to check the main page of whatever web site is hosting it in order to determine the organization's parent city, state, country, etc.
would it be too much to ask for news wire services to start formatting their dateline like this...
NEWARK, OHIO, USA—Absolutely nothing fucking happened here today because our city is in the middle of the cow-intensive nowhere that is central Ohio. Yes, we share the same name as the largest city in New Jersey which is known for its crime and the city in Delaware known as "the one besides Wilmington" but we are, in fact, 400 miles from each of them.
ok, rant over. i imagine we'll eventually see this change made. i just wish it would happen faster.
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