Media Mover’s Back to Democracy
Posted on December 8, 2006
Filed Under For Argument's Sake |
Over the past few weeks the idea that what’s happening to the media should be news has started to become an irritation, one of those sores on the side of your jaw caused by too much rubbing. It feels like high time to move on and maybe reflect on how changes in communications change also how we think, interact, desire, and live. I mean look at the results rather than dwell on the process.
I won’t let the introspection go without quoting this from Mark Evans though:
“To be honest, I don’t think big media organizations can effectively do citizen journalism. Why? I don’t think citizens feel an enormous affinity or loyalty to large conglomerate such as Yahoo or Reuters. Sure, there’s the glory of seeing your content within a Yahoo or Reuters story but I don’t see that as a sustainable or vibrant activity.”
My own take is slightly different. There are so many outlets coming on stream to allow people an opportunity to show their citizen journalism - and YouTube is the old shop window anyway. What is most striking about all this is the focus on technology. The technology let’s us do it but surely the important point is people want to participate and they are educated enough to have a point of view and be able to articulate it, somehow.
It’s the fact of having a broad spectrum of society itching to have their say one way or another that matters. Citizen journalism may, in the end, not be the right vehicle for that though.
Thirty years ago political parties were. What then will the future hold? A politician who finally listens to the concerns being voiced, who understands how to take a lead in opinion forming, who becomes a focal point for public creativity, he or she is going to win elections. You might say, at that point, we won back some democracy. You can’t say that when the final output is a new CJ website or TV channel.
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Technology will further ensure each voice gets opportunity to air their views.This will definetly lead to more participation.
Lawrence Vishnu
Media Movers, Inc.