Nov 03 2010
Response – Post 9
This week’s discussion on wikis really got me thinking. As someone who wasn’t all thatfamiliar with this form of communication, watching the video in today’s class helped demonstrate the importance of this “informal reporting.”
I think what I was most impressed with when it came to WikiLeaks – it is not just simply churning out information once it’s received, but in fact most of the time it’s fact-checked and served up as a credible source to the masses. Even when the documents or leaks haven’t been verified, I appreciate that WikiLeaks makes the effort to be as transparent as possible and let readers know this. To me, even if the leaks turn out to be fake, at least audiences went into the situation with a real frame of reference. Additionally, by being truthful about sources and documents, WikiLeaks is able to build a reader following and develop the all important reader trust.
WikiLeaks are another interesting source when it comes to distributing news…based on today’s video I feel like they fall somewhere between traditional news outlets and citizen journalism. This is just another example of how the news industry is constantly evolving based on new technologies. The introduction of the Internet has made it possible for everyone and anyone to post “news” online. The difference between WikiLeaks and the average citizen journalist is that it would seem that WikiLeaks tends to be a more trusted “news” source and that they incorporate standard journalism practices into their news distribution. Additionally, WikiLeaks (much like traditional journalism outlets) protect their sources and by doing so are privileged to exclusive information that other outlets (who may not be able to protect sources) are not.
However, after finding out all of this information I was surprised to find out that there wasn’t enough funding for this project to continue (at first). I think that WikiLeaks offers a lot of valuable information and is genuinely interested in serving the public good, so it was a shame that the site didn’t have the funding or support to continue without taking a hiatus. It would seem that this site is a great virtual example of the fourth estate and watchdog journalism. After all of the complaining going on about the news industry (both traditional and new media), it’s interesting that when we do have a medium trying to look out for the public that they aren’t backed and supported by a larger population.
Overall, I think that WikiLeaks are a great addition to the news industry and in helping gather and distribute investigative journalism stories. I’d like to see more of this kind of reporting and verifying of information. I also appreciate that this forum exists to help break these kinds of stories and I hope that it continues to serve the public good and bring important issues to the forefront of society’s mind.