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This weeks reader by Melissa Wall 'Blogs of War' defines news as 'new information about a subject of some public interest that is shared with some portion of the public.' I found it interesting that Wall described the changes of news starting in 1955. During that period news was presented as a mere reflection of reality, a detached, neutral report. Researchers began pointing out that news was not a 'mirror' of reality but a manufactured cultural product that was dependent on professional routines and also on broader forces such as ideological powers exercised by elites within society. She said the news began being reproduced the structures of power already existent in society! A writing style imitating fiction arose during the 1960's, abandoning objectivity. By the end of the 20th century governmental policy dominates news now with a small number of giant corporations whom the bottom line is profit (Wall, 2005).
News and current affairs blogs on the other hand offer the opinion of the blogger and can be biased, however blogging is changing journalism creating a more conversational, dialogic and decentralised type of news. They have been dubbed 'do-it-yourself' journalism which does not follow the canons in face checking, seeking out alternative or opposing views (Wall, 2005).
Janey Gordons reader 'The Mobile Phone and the Public Sphere: Mobile phone usage in three critical situations" discusses the London Bombings in 2005, the Asian tsunami in 2004 and the SARS outbreak in China in 2003. In each case mobile phones, blogs and YouTube played prominent roles in news reporting. Gordon explains the Chinese government concealed the numbers of affected people and played down the disease's seriousness until messages were sent out of the country via mobile phones. It was then that the World Health Organisation (WHO) got involved and reported accurate statistics. Mobile phones were recording live footage of the Asian tsunami when it hit coastlines in Indonesia however many coastal areas were not able to be informed of the forthcoming dangers due to lack of beacons. Since this tragedy beacons have been installed. Prominent news companies were requesting footage from witnesses - the citizen journalists - who recorded the terrible effects of the floodwaters. Mobile phones also captured the tragic bombings in London during 2005. The media were unable to get to the scenes in time and onlookers were able to record footage of the bus and subway bombings. These images and videos were then uploaded to YouTube and blogging sites for the world to see (Gordon, 2007).
Discussion 1:
How is Wikipedia an example of participatory culture and/or collective intelligence? How is material contributed to the site? Why is the idea of 'neutrality' important? Is Wikipedia a credible source of information, and why/why not?
Wikipedia can be edited by anyone who registers as a member. Anyone can register for free and start making alterations to any topic at any time. This is why it is considered participatory. It is also considered collective intelligence because its members collect information on various subjects to add to Wikipedia. It has a community of regular members who are vigilant about their favourite topics, topics which they are passionate about. They set up their accounts so if any other person makes an amendment to information that they have previously added - they are notified and can delete or amend it accordingly.
According to Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, many of their regular contributors are educated, articulate members who spend many hours entering/editing various topics to ensure the information is current and correct. Their aim, along with Jimmy Wales original vision, is to maintain a free encyclopaedia for the world to access (Wales, 2005).
Jimmy talks of the kind of information available on Wikipedia. He says it's not the sites aim to contain right and wrong information, but 'neutral' information. Wikipedia must remain neutral and contain information offering all points of view (Wales, 2005).
Some people believe Wikipedia is a credible source, others do not. Academically it is not accepted, HOWEVER it is useful for a brief description or definition that can then be backed up with reliable, credible and possibly peer-reviewed sources. It is possible that if a person was going to rely on Wikipedia and not research any other source, then the information could possibly be incorrect or biased based on the opinion of the person who entered that information.
Discussion 2:
With regards to news media, what is gatekeeping? Who does it? What function does it serve - why is it important? What effects do newer media such as blogs and online social networks have on the identity and function of gatekeepers?
Gatekeeping in relation to media is the process by which a system or an authoritative figure will permit or deny access to information. Gatekeepers control the flow of information sent out to the general public. Generally it is either the government (in the case of China) or the heads of traditional media - newspapers and broadcast news - which have this role. Gatekeeping can be positive in the way that it could prevent mass hysteria, however it can also have a negative effect. When SARS broke out in China in 2002 the Chinese government understated the problem and maintained reporting restrictions. They did not inform the World Health Organisation (WHO) of its severity and concealment was deliberate. The message was spread via SMS (Gordon, 2007).
New media channels like YouTube, social networking sites and blogs have no gatekeepers so messages are getting through to the world. An example of this is the current issue of Occupy Wall Street protests. These protestors are receiving little or no media coverage through traditional media avenues. Their cause is mainly being broadcast via YouTube videos recorded on mobile phones or digital cameras. The gatekeepers have no control over these video makers or bloggers and these videos are giving the filters (the producers) identity. News is spread via mobile phone audio reports and pictures without the gatekeeping or editorship of corporate news media (Gordon, 2007).
Some traditional media request footage of current issues as they happen, eg. the tsunami in Indonesia. In this case it can be edited before going to print or air, however some citizen journalists who capture images of major events put reports in the public sphere via personal blogs (Gordon, 2007).
Discussion 3:
As I mentioned in this week's video, the unit content was produced prior to Wikileaks really taking off. How do you think Wikileaks could be understood in terms of the ideas of Modules 3.1 & 3.2?
Wikileaks is about leaking protected information that they feel the public should be made aware of. Some people agree that the government should keep certain secrets secret, however others feel there should be no secrets. The problem with this is some government secrets are classified to protect the citizens and prevent hysteria. Black and Bryan, 2011 state WikiLeaks disclosures have encouraged dreams of libertarian societies where rulers and powerholders — including diplomats — cannot hide from accountability (Black & Bryant, 2011). They then go on to say history tells us that utopian visions generated by ‘technical fixes’ are mere mirages and that "diplomats will find ways to circumvent the piercing eye of digital technology, just as in the past they negotiated their way around, and indeed exploited, the communication revolutions of print, telegraph and telephone in order to consolidate their roles as knowledge managers servicing the knowledge needs of their political masters" (Black & Bryant, 2011).
Government agencies will (if they haven't already) employ the cleverest of hackers and computer scientists to prevent breaches of security.
References:
Black, A., & Bryant, A. (2011). Knowledge management and diplomacy: Reflections on the demise of the valedictory despatch in the context of an informational history of the British Diplomatic Service. First Monday, 16(103).
Gordon, J. (2007). The Mobile Phone and the Public Sphere: Mobile Phone Usage in Three Critical Situations. Convergence, 13(307). doi: 10.1177/1354856507079181
Wales, J. (Writer). (2005). Jimmy Wales: How a Ragtag Band Created Wikipedia [Video]. In TedTalksDirector (Producer), TEDTalksDirector. United States of America: YouTube
Wall, M. (2005). Blogs of War: Weblogs as news. Journalism, 2005(6), 153. doi: 10.1177/1464884905051006
