IFC's Truth Behind the News

By Eric Ivanov on 05/06/2009

Question: How does IFC differ from the type of news assessment found in news networks?

Is it possible to see all sides of a story? Can anyone actually get all of the facts? What does it mean to be fully informed? In this age of information, IFC's "Media Project", hosted by Gideon Yago, attempts to tackle these questions to reveal the truth within the vast and increasingly complex news environment.
In this hyper media information age, where information speed is vital and attention spans are shrinking, complex stories and issues must often be told in increasingly shorter segments. In the first episode of the Media Project, IFC's News Junkie uses the case of Somali Pirates to illustrate the consequences of incomplete information. The segment shows how the Somali Pirate story, a complex and wide-ranging issue, has been reduced to a good versus evil story with little depth, reflection, or analysis. The News Junkie approaches the Somali story by showing what's been left out of the media dialog. This is a common question asked in deconstructing the messages. By finding out what's missing, a story becomes more accurate. This is something the mainstream media has often failed to do.

IFC's Media Project, to further investigate the wholeness of news, included a segment investigating why Al Jazeera English, an Arabic owned news network, was not being broadcast in the United States. Just exploring this issue gets to the core of how much information we need, have, and are entitled to. In the digital age, this is perhaps not as prescient a concern, but the context is highly relevant.
Truth, by and large, is provisional. In the news world, it's as good as the story at the end of the day. Attaining a better understanding of issues, especially in a global context, can only be strengthened through hearing multiple perspectives. Finding ways to discuss these issues, while remaining both interesting and engaging, shows a new style towards finding the truth behind the news.

Ultimately, it is the citizen who decides what is true and who to trust. In an age where it is becoming increasingly difficult to find the true avenues of credibility in the news world, IFC has experimented with a new model to find meaning around the truth. When media organizations produce relevant, credible, and diligently researched content, like the "Media Project", we are reminded again of the value of journalism in a digital age. Of course, we still have to trust IFC. But they have shifted the onus increasingly on us, the citizens to find reliable and credible avenues for information. As we know, a passive citizenry is an undemocratic citizenry.

[Additional Photos: "Truth", DroppingKowledge.org, 2007; "Speak Truth", ActiveSpeak.info, 2007]