We The Media

“We The Media,” written in 2006 by Dan Gillmor is a historical account of the rise citizen journalism with the World Wide Web. Technology has made communicating across the farthest reaches of the globe as easy as hitting the send button. This has had serious implications on what used to be the pillars of big media. Media outlets large and small have had to adapt to meet the needs of their readers in a world wide economic structure that is based on the trade of information.

On Page 101 under “Open Source Politics,” the book talks about a MoveOn.org project called Bush in 30 seconds. The book doesn’t go into detail about these ads’s, which is a shame. They were some of the most creative and effective political ads ever made and hold an important place in the history of user-generated media. The winning ad called Child’s Play depicts children working industrial jobs to pay off the financial deficit created by President Bush. These ads pushed the boundaries of political correctness, and it was all ok because of the user created format. There is a new MoveOn project called Obama in 30 seconds, which is going on currently, with a deadline of April 15th. The winner receives $20,000 in editing gear and gets their spot aired nationally on TV. I am sure that this will result in an equally groundbreaking set of ads as the original Bush in 30 seconds did.

Page 111 contains a quote by Jeff Jarvis, who head’s Advance.net. He states, “The internet is the first medium owned by the audience, the first medium to give the audience a voice.” This quote arguably summarizes the whole book, “We The Media.” Never before could the viewer be the teller in the ways the Internet has created. Anyone with the knowledge can become a content creator and publisher. This creates a new power dynamic between newsrooms and the greater community. Those focused on the bottom line of big media have fears that the integrity and investigative quality of journalism goes down, as citizens become active news contributors. This might very well be true, but the more view points expressed the more options the news consumer has to pick from. Although seeking variety of options and sources in the past has not been the normal course for the average viewer, technologies like RSS are changing that. RSS is really a revolutionary idea. It makes the web efficient, and brings it to the user. No longer does the user have to seek out information, it comes to them. This is incredibly effective for both content providers and end users.

Page 198 briefly describes a situation that took place in Zimbabwe when a British journalist was held of trial because the government did not like what he had published back in the UK. He was eventually deported, but this story is especially timely in light of the recent elections in that country. Zimbabwe, under the rule of Robert Mugabe, has effectively banned journalism from entering the country. This came under intentional fire and claims of election abuse run rabid there right now. By not letting the media in, they take it as a sign there is something being hidden.