Marion Phillips, a vice president at U.S. News and World Report, spoke to students about the evolution of media, Feb. 11, in LU’s Communications Building.
Phillips, a Lamar University alumni, was enthusiastic and engaged the students with questions and jokes. He began by asking students to examine where they source their information. He then led students through a timeline of media, beginning with church bells.
Phillips said the information was controlled by the churches and also by the king. Phillips traced the history of communication from newspapers to radio, television, movies, social media and onto streaming. He said it is important that we carefully check our news sources.
“The source matters where you get your information,” he said. “Our responsibility is to challenge information to learn more.”
Phillips also said that while media was controlled by the king and the church, it is now controlled by big corporations, such as Disney owning Marvel, ESPN, ABC and other companies. Students should understand who has the power over the information.
“It’s not a negative, it’s a reality,” Phillips said. “Look at where we’ve come from and where we are. It’s still the same. Technology has just shifted.”
Phillips reiterated the continually changing nature of media and emphasized the need to diversify our sources throughout the evolution. While big corporations own many sources, students should be aware of where their information comes from.