No matter if you are talking about news media, the Internet or cable television, the one thing they all have in common is a massive store of information. Historically, this has been viewed as the great gift of modern communications -- after all, providing massive amounts of information is what the 'mass' media is all about.

However, no one ever wanted the glut.

The glut is an apt description of the mass media environment today. Not simply a cliche, it has deeply penetrated the roots of society itself, as many post-modern critics and writers are quick to point out. For instance, in his book, White Noise Don DeLillo describes a family in a constant state of bombardment. They live and breath in synch with the flow of media messages from their television and radio. (Apparently, they are not a reading family.)

The flow is constant. Words, pictures, numbers, facts, graphics, statistics, specks, waves, particles, motes.
Denis crawled up to the set and turned the volume dial. Nothing happened ... She turned to look at me, a moment of renewed confusion ... The small boy remained at the TV set, within inches of the dark screen, crying softly, uncertainly, in low heaves and swells ... (105).

The glut has other effects: we simply don't read the way we used to. Listen to this hypothetical college student who subscribes to The Washington Post.

"I mean, I pick up this 15-pound stack of paper off my step every morning. Fifteen pounds full of tiny words that tell me what I'm supposed to know about yesterday. I already have approximately 50 pages of reading to do for tomorrow. I'll be luck if I get beyond the headlines!"

But wait a second.