~Transmogrifications in Contemporary Media~

Day 473, 22:11 • Published in USA USA • by Benn Dover

Sentiment, respect, and diversity were once reasons for writing. This belief has altered; these motivations exist elsewhere. The desire for personal achievement has replaced the one beautiful aspect of eRepublik - the indistinguishably unique passion for developing creative and thoughtful literature masterpieces. But media in real life is very much different than media in eRepublik, simply because it is the only outlet for anybody who has something to say in the e-world. Journals, newspapers, catalogs, and even sources of literature are all housed under one category entitled the media. The flaws of this generalization are becoming prevalent in modern times as the media becomes industrialized. The "power of the pen," which at one point was an influence to an international demographic, has recently been susceptible to nationalists, profiteers, and attention whores. I point to, but do not flame, newspapers like OtherNews, eWorld Trade Center, and Newspaper of Onrche. Granted, this article is not meant to be a literary criticism of the current media moguls. That would be damn near impossible given my current education of the Hungarian language, or lack there of. The point of this article is to get you to think before subscribing; consider who and what you are acknowledging respect to.

There are dozens of newspapers in the world that merit the recognition as a media "mogul," and there are a handful out there who have it that many would argue are not as deserving. What constitutes a worthy mogul? Certainly one man cannot set the ground rules for such an award. Even influencing the way citizens read and respond to newspapers is difficult, if not impossible. I will, in upcoming articles, work to improve on several aspects of the media. The first is the obvious - the way different written pieces are organized, displayed, and presented. I will work to optimize said presentation to reach out to all demographics, not just those who appreciated foreign affairs like the current international news can vouch for (or, more relevant to today's world, eHungarian domestic affairs). The second is not so obvious, and an internal issue in eRepublik. In short it is a fundamental problem of this game, aforementioned briefly. Why two completely different subjects such as a lottery contest and a declaration of war fall under the same category I do not know. It is this confusion that brings me to the desire for change in eRepublik; change that is necessary to overcome such clustered messages; change that will open the minds of citizens around the world; change that will allow for everybody's voice to be heard truly, not just those who write attention-grabbing articles.

Our media has transformed from a reliable source of structured and developed literature into a machine of recent events and propaganda. Granted, those articles have their place in the game; if they did not then the game would be similarly corrupt as it is now. However, what is wrought from this topical isolation is often regarded as hatred and a growing sense of alliance pride. Such repetition makes the game boring for the majority of us who appreciate the hard work that is commonly overlooked. All of these factors are a good sign as to the recent wars - alliance pride, nationalism, boredom, and hatred. The result of these factors help represent how media in eRepublik is slowly transitioning into an unsophisticated World where satire and cynicism are accepted and the ability to augment one’s subscriber base reflects their abilities as a writer. The reasons why a large subscriber base is desirable are obvious - the "power of the pen," as stated before, offers much political and social drive in this game, and the top "writers" (journalists, statisticians, and even spin doctors) have as much power as proportionate to their number of subscribers. I look down upon those who write with profit in mind primarily.

The media is being manipulated as a tool. A recent Indonesian movement is marked by a lop-sided proportion of subscribers to general population between the countries of eRepublik exemplifies this and proves it as factual. Population does not accurately depict the activity of a country's media realm. High activity should always be welcomed into the game. It improves micro-society, and the general fun of the game, but where and when does such a society cross the line into being overly influential in the media? Perhaps that line has been crossed; maybe such large subscriber bases as shown lately proclaim a new era in the game in which the media is yet another factor that can overshadow the "inactive," or small countries - right next to military, political, and economic influences. Even if it does not, the media is still remarkably flawed. Whether e-society. as a whole, is transitioning to be overwhelming, overshadowing, or eventually overbearing, a flaw is becoming present. Something's gotta give, significant change is the only way to end current and potential corruption. Change in the way media is perceived, presented, and organized. One can only hope such a cultural shift occurs soon.

Thanks for reading,
~Benn