Comment on “Read or Listen? Print vs. Radio News”

By Olivia Chatowsky, November 11, 2019

In Brandon’s “Read or Listen? Print vs. Radio News” (link below), a very important and relevant question arises in the context of today’s world. It’s hard to decide whether or not it is better to listen to the news on the radio for the latest updates on the commute to or from work or read a physical newspaper with less convenience but better absorbing the details.

            We are forced to make these daily decisions often based on convenience or staying up to date on the latest and greatest, but at what cost? According to Katelyn Silva’s article, cell phone use is extremely costly, whether its uploading vacation photos, or upgrading the phone itself (2019). When we use our phones and upgrade the storage, we are exhausting lots of energy just to use the cloud, translating to lots of water and electricity usage (Silva 2019).

Cell phone use and technology is so consuming in today’s world that it is easy to forget that even the smallest of decisions can have a greater impact, particularly on the environment. According to Zion Lights’ “10 Daily Habits That are Killing the Environment” there are many seemingly obvious bad habits that we are all guilty of at least once a day whether it is leaving the lights on, using plastic bags, or wasting paper (2019). But being aware of how our decisions can have a greater impact can help us make better, more knowledgeable decisions, and spread awareness.

So how does this relate to print or radio news? It’s about the small decisions we make to help ourselves be more informed, choosing to read a newspaper article vs. listen to a podcast since the newspaper will use less energy than your cell phone, then choosing to recycle the newspaper afterwards. In other cases, as Brandon points out, listening to the radio might be the better option since it has a way of grabbing the reader and highlighting the most important details, which may be the better option if you are stuck in traffic with many other CO₂ emitting vehicles, so as to inform yourself on what is going on in the world and how you can try to make a difference.

Sources:

Silva, K. 2019. Digital Footprints. < https://www.gettysburg.edu/news/stories?id=c651187e-dbbe-4b0e-90fe-e1113c9f167b> Accessed November 11, 2019.

Lights, Z. 2019. 10 Daily Habits That are Killing the Environment.

<https://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/10-daily-habits-that-are-killing-the-environment/> Accessed November 11, 2019.