Oct 24 2010
Framing: Week 9, Citizen Journalism
- As we know, many websites now give you the option/opportunity to like, dislike, comment, recommend, etc news stories. It’s a fun way of feeling like your opinion matters. But how does this affect mainstream professional media like New York Times, Washington Post, etc? Although it is a very broad question, I am curious to see how media (and conglomerates) analyze and process this new type of feedback.
- Goode discusses citizen journalism and like many of us know, citizen journalism and professional media have some oppositional characteristics. These opposing characteristics present a challenge to corporate media, but if this challenge is so detrimental— why do we witness so many mainstream corporate media utilizing it’s tools and power to reach masses?
- If new media has proven itself to be so promising and effective in strengthening democracy, what are the aspects that professional/mainstream media fear?
October 29th, 2010 at 9:57 am
In response to question #2:
Blogging has aspects that are appealing not only to the public average citizens, but also to professional journalists and mainstream media. As discussed earlier, when blogging first emerged it was overlooked and overestimated by the media. Today, mainstream media are using blogs to the maximum their readership/revenue and requiring or encouraging their employers to also utilize these tools. This supports the notation that blogging is a powerful mechanism to reach masses.
Popular journalism mediums, such as The Washington Post have developed strategies of including blogging into their websites. On The Washington Post’s website, each channel (News, Local, Politics, Opinions, Sports, Business, and Arts & Living) provides a blog subdivision referred to as Columns & Blogs or separated as Columnists and Blogs. Under each tab, citizens have the opportunity to comment and/od share content through social media tools. Each category has approximately 24 blogs to read on the blog main page, with an option click More to read more context from the blogger featured.
Greensboro, North Carolina’s local newspaper, News & Record, also has an efficient website that is strategically organized providing users with the option to read news reports by professional journalists or citizen-produced reports (blogs). The site also has a channel dedicated to blogs, (http://www.news-record.com/blogs), listing blogs that discuss various subjects. Although the News & Record serves a smaller population and therefore circulation, they are effective in granting readers the opportunity to speak and voice their opinions, thus creating a democratic community. The disclaimer below is from the Washington Post and is posted on each blog:
“We encourage users to analyze, comment on and even challenge washingtonpost.com’s articles, blogs, reviews and multimedia features.
User reviews and comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain “signatures” by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions.”
Although the disclaimer attempts to regulate what non-journalists can or cannot discuss, the definition of violate in this case is extremely broad. Citizens have the opportunity to voice their perspectives and do so. While individuals have the prime opportunity to create intense disputes, the steps to block users are rarely taken because freedom of speech is such an open concept and cannot easily distinguished in terms of ethics. Nevertheless, popular and high-trafficked media websites such as The Washington Post, The News & Observer and thousands of other sites manifest that they too want to be a part of the blogging experience. Despite the fact that at one point in time, professional journalists shunned the idea of blogging, it is safe to say that they now acknowledge its power and worth on multiple levels.