For centuries, human beings have been communicating information and stories in various forms: through speech, text and images. Now in the age of information technology, individuals are being constantly bombarded by massive amounts of information through new mediums such as mass media, social media, and other new technologies. These technical advances allow people to have access to a vast network of ideas and stories, literally at their fingertips. Social networking websites such as twitter allow the “average person” to share their personal everyday stories to the world (as long as they are under 140 characters), over the internet. But with all of this information floating around us everyday, how do we decide which ones to pay attention to?
It’s fair to say that most stories out there are lost to the vastness of the internet; with over 3.2 billion users online, it’s hard to shine a light on all of this information. That’s where the mass media comes in. Journalists in the mass media industry work to seek out stories that they think are important or relevant through both virtual and physical channels. This means that only stories which are covered by the media are considered “relevant” and all other stories are marginalized immediately, regardless of how important it may be to certain individuals or groups.
Comedian and TV personality, John Oliver attempts to put a twist on the traditional way a life narrative is told in the mass media by adding a comedic element to journalism. His weekly TV show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, attempts to bring attention to less known stories in the media by doing “deep dives” into certain topics. Out of all of his videos (he post them all on YouTube), his deep dive into the topic of mandatory minimum prison sentencing caught my eye. In the video, he describes how low-level offenders are required to serve ridiculously large periods of time in the US prison system. This was backed up through multiple first person narratives of the victims of the mandatory minimum laws. He then calls for the viewers to take action based on the terrible conditions these prisoners are facing.
Although life narratives are being used in the mainstream media to advocate for certain causes, it is also important to keep in mind of the unheard stories as well. Even if they aren’t picked up by the media, they might be worth experiencing.