As I continue to look through Dan Gillmor’s We the Media, I was struck by what he calls “rolling” the news. Dan describes how he felt during the days and weeks of uncertainty that followed the 2000 US presidential elections. (He was teaching in China and the limited amount of coverage the debates over hanging chads he received left him wanting.) So, he combined several sources—from online streaming of US news radio to local coverage by his hometown California newspaper—and soon realized that the coverage he was putting together or “rolling” was more complete than he could have hoped for even if he had had a 24/7 stream of US television news network programming.
As I thought about it, it’s what I do all the time. When an important event happens, I know exactly where to go to get the best live video and audio (either CNN.com or MSNBC.com), then for the commentary I jump over to the journalists and newscasters that I prefer (NPR.org) then for any gossip/uncorroborated details of the story I head to my “unsubstantiated news providers” (TMZ.com or Wonkette.com). I would never just depend on ONE of those sources for my news. NOR do I even consider that I’m somehow being redundant or repetitive in how I follow events. In fact, I have become so accustomed to “rolling my news” that I view my multi-sourced search as the way for me to get the “whole” and complete picture.
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