Forming an Opportunity Belief
The unmet need that I have identified is the need for a
governing group that holds news corporations more accountable for false
reports. This is a need that is global, but is most obvious to me in the United
States. This is a general public problem and mostly effects any American who
watches, reads, or listens to the news. This need has always existed in some
extent because there has always been fake news, but I think it is more
prevalent in the last three years than it ever has been before. Though there is
no real penalization as of now other than criticism and some employees being
fired it seems like people are taking measures to alert the public that this is
happening. I would say that an opportunity to ethically audit news stations
exists 100 percent as of right now.
My prototypical customer will be college students who
commonly watch, read, or listen to the news.
1st Interview
This is needed because a lot of news organizations are quick
to report news before there are solid facts or verifying their source. This can
cause mass confusion, leading to news sources not being trusted. She becomes
aware of the need most of the time. It depends on how much she is consuming
news, but when she is she feels a need for this governing group. The interviewee
says that she feels that there has been a small need for this for the past 10
years but that there is an elevated need in the past year, due to the latest
election and news following it. She was not aware of this need until the start
of the 2016 presidential election cycle. After seeing news that was reported
prematurely during the election without all the facts. An example would be
Hillary Clintons e-mail scandal. She is seeking out multiple news sources and
checking validity through multiple outside companies who fact check these news
channels. She is decently satisfied with this solution, but feels there is a
need for a stricter fact filtering process.
2nd Interview
This product ensures that the viewers are getting a product
that is factual, so that they are not misinformed. This interviewee says that
he has a need for this every day because he gets a lot of his news through
social media feeds. Much of this news he finds to be false information and it
leads him to believe things that are not true. He believes that this has always
been a need because there has always been some fake news, but he also says that
there has been more of a need recently. He noticed that this was a need in the
most recent election as well because there was more fake news in the headlines
during this time. He also uses fact checking resources to make sure that the
news he consumes is factual. He rates his solution a 3.5 out of 5 stating that
there can always be improvements so that he receives 100% factual news.
3rd interview
This interviewee does not think that this is needed. Even
though the news channels are very biased he believes that adding this to the
mix would make the news more corrupt. The news in his opinion is supposed to
represent the ideals of the people. He thinks that if you have someone try to
control that it is heading more towards socialist or communist ideals. He
thinks that this private company that would audit the news could be lobbied
into censoring the news away from facts. He believes that there is a need for a
company to help to audit news corporations into stating facts, but is just
worried about the fact that they could eventually silence some facts that they
or lobbyists do not want to be heard. He believes politics is one big monster
and it adds just another element to the monster.
Reflection: I learned that my opportunity may be a valid
one, but that it would need to be watched closely to make sure that it was not
overstepping free speech and human rights. It could be good for the consumer to
make sure that they receive facts and are not basing their opinions on lies. I
was surprised about the fact that this idea could turn out negatively if it
gets out of hand because it could sensor too much if there are not specific
standards.
Conclusion/Summary: I feel like there is still a legitimate
opportunity to pitch this idea and create a company that does this for the
government.
I think that I have learned more about what specifics must
occur for my idea to be realistic and work.
I think that there must be a tradeoff between adapting and
staying firm because not all consumer feedback will help your product.
I think it is an interesting proposal that you have presented to deal with the "fake news" issue. Although, it raises a bigger issue of where the funding will come from to make this governing group realistic. It brings up an important point of government overreach and the responsibility an individual has to ensure that they are receiving credible information.
ReplyDeleteYour idea for a governing group that regulates the news was a very interesting and good idea. I agree that fake news is a problem and often inaccurately shapes the thoughts of the general public heavily. I believe creating a company that sorts through all news stations and newspapers, monitoring them for fake news would be extremely difficult, as the database for news is very large. Although if it can be done in a credible manor without limiting the right to free speech that all United States citizens are entitled to, your idea would be extremely beneficial to not only college students, but the public as a whole.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really great opportunity you've thought of. It was interesting how you had such fluctuating opinions in your interviews about whether or not this governing council over factual news would be a good thing or a bad thing. It sounds like your interviewee's gave you some really great insight. I think that you have a good idea here but it would require a lot of logistical research and testing before it could be put into practice. Regulating news sources begins to cross a very fine line of free speech, however, if executed properly it could really be a beneficial idea.
ReplyDeleteI found your report on the news agencies needing to keep themselves in check. In a world where so much of the news is digested through social media, so often are reputable sources not producing objective content. Its even more of a shame because these networks/agencies have the responsibility of delivering real news in a time where so much fake news exists.
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