For the 2019 GATI Entrepreneurship Essay Contest, I chose the existing News Application that is pre-installed into Apple mobile devices and developed an idea that could greatly enhance the quality and effectiveness of the app. I would like to propose an addition to the application that would allow users to work with others to analyze news reports and articles released by various media outlets. The variety of media already available in the News Application could be available for public scrutiny, comments, and discussions. Formatted like a social media platform, this improved version would allow the user to select the topics they are interested in and then provide relevant articles in their “feed”. By selecting topics based on their interests, users will also be able to connect with others with similar preferences by choosing from a “Recommended Users” list. This ability to connect users with others and allow them to communicate and discuss the news available to them would make this app both a source of information and a social media platform.
    The goal of this program would be to provide a platform on which people with common interests can view news articles and work together to analyze them. In today’s media, the line between factual and fake news has become imperspicuous, leaving a questioning and unaware people to try to pick out the truth on their own. With the ability to communicate and discuss the media with a group of people, the user will not only be able to express their ideas and beliefs, but they will be exposed to different perspectives on a topic, allowing for new insight into an issue. Having more minds thinking together and discussing the media can help users understand what is true and will keep them open to other ideas that may reinforce - or challenge - their own. It is important for people to learn to be accepting of beliefs that differ from their own, and discussing a common issue with someone that may have a completely different political standpoint could stimulate growth and knowledge, allowing them to understand the subject in a new way.
    Users will also be able to determine which news outlets are most reliable by analyzing articles and reports they released in a group. Of course, reliability is based largely off of personal belief, so there will be a lot of room for disagreement on this app. To accommodate this, I could also incorporate a forum into the traditional News App that allows people to engage in friendly debates on topics of interest. It could be a one-on-one style discussion or a group against group format. It would give the people an opportunity to lay out their opinions and express their ideas on matters they are passionate about. The discussion will end whenever one user chooses to end it - there is no “winner” or “loser”, because the goal is to expose people to different viewpoints that they may choose to adopt and spread, not to promote unambiguousness in politics. Knowing that political discussions can get aggressive, there can be a designated moderator to supervise each of these debate-type exchanges.
    I strongly believe that the incorporation of this idea into the existing News Application on Apple devices will improve the quality of information and user experience in an interactive and collaborative fashion. Users will not only become more informed - they will also have the ability to work with others to analyze the media available to them and express their ideas to a group of people, all while exposed to different perspectives to provide new insight into topics and increase open-mindedness. The implementation of this relatively inexpensive addition would boost profits and broaden the application’s user base through its high potential to attract a wide audience.