New and Old Media, Participation, and Information

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Syllabus


February 28

The profusion of low-cost media production and distribution has led to the rise of an alternative citizen-led media sector. Is this a passing fad of enthusiastic amateurs or the beginning of a fundamental restructuring of the way media and news are produced and consumed? Will the current trends lead to more information, better information, and better informed people or to an infinite stream of unreliable chatter? Will it lead to a more politically engaged populace or to an increasingly polarized society that picks its sources of information to match its biases and ignorance?



Readings

Optional Readings


Class Discussion

Links from Class

Slides for class: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2011/Image:IS2011-3.1.11-New_and_Old_Media.pdf

There is an interesting case on appeal in the Belgian courts regarding Yahoo’s aggregate news service that could have further European implications. A Belgian court ruled in 2007 that Google News’ publishing links breached Belgian copyright laws. See http://www.bloomberg.com/news - search Google Belgium 2011-02-24 “Google Belgian Copyright Case Could Set Europe Policy”


In the United States the way one of the founding fathers envisioned free speech was that “the people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable.”'

While the premise of this argument exists in America today, I am unconvinced in the current culture that the majority of citizen “journalism” promotes and/or moves facts forward to actually enhance the greater good in many cases. We continue to see this during times of difficulty where inaccurate and misleading information is relayed through one source or another. I think the larger argument that needs to be made is that the separation between opinion and fact is almost virtually extinct in the media today. In the age of the five-second headline of hyperbole the “quick hit” is king over the investigated fact.

There are only a few large corporations that own the media outlets and they have control over the way news is relayed. These organizations often relay “news” into the public forum through the prism of political bias and financial expediency. http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart/main

On September 22 2009, Clay Shirky spoke at the Shorenstein Center on accountability journalism. Shirky noted "we are headed into a long trough of decline in accountability journalism because the old models are breaking faster than the new models will be put in their place." He goes on to note that decisions about what news is being desired, “is now being made more by the consumer of the news than by the producer of the news.” In an effort to keep up with that constant appetite, media organizations have become sloppy in their reporting. 

 1.  James Madison, House of Representatives, June 8 1789
 2.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnW2Lv8aFGs

Camcloughlin 21:43, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

How a Kansas City blogger made himself the go-to destination for KC info, both for citizens and local journalists. Where does he fit in the blogger vs. journalist debate? Welcome to Tony's Kansas City Mcforelle 17:07, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

This 'pitch' article is pretty interesting. It seems like he operates as a KC pundit: "The Botello of TKC hated Kansas City, for one. He referred to it as "cowtown" and trashed its every institution, from the Chiefs to the art scene to the restaurants. Men were "douchebags," women "skanks" and "tramps."" I don't know if I would call him a journalist in the traditional "being objective" sense especially after reading some of his articles (although some of his articles seem to be very objective), but I would definitely consider his work to be valuable. His spin can easily be dissected and the facts can be reevaluated. Saambat 19:42, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

For anyone who is curious (I know I was!), here are a couple articles detailing the French court's decision in the Joseph Weiler/Karin Colvo-Goller libel case. The case was dismissed, as the court ruled that the review in question did not go beyond the bounds of any normal review, and that Ms. Colvo-Goller did not bring the suit in good faith (meaning that she forum-shopped).
"French Court Finds in Favor of Journal Editor Sued for Libel Over Book Review" - The Chronicle of Higher Education
Prof. Weiler's blog post about the ruling
mcforelle 19:22, 5 March 2011 (UTC)

Another great article on this topic of old vs new media. Apparently this is a particularly hot button issue right now. Jay Rosen, from NYU's J-school, is presenting at SXSW on this topic, and has written an article as a means of soliciting reader's input on this upcoming presentation. Today he responded to some reader responses. The whole thing, including the conversations in the comments section, is worth a read:
Why "Bloggers vs. Journalists" is Still With Us Mcforelle 02:26, 6 March 2011 (UTC)


Anyone can have a voice that has the ability to touch anyone on the internet. This is the main reason Wikileaks is able to thrive. The internet not only gives people the means to share information, but it gives them a way to be anonymous. My final paper in part discusses the affect the internet has had on WikiLeaks. I found this article from the Guardian while researching for my final paper.iReport: Now anyone can be a journalist Joshuasurillo 14:42, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

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