J. Lasica ‘Blogs and journalism need each other’

Question

Why do mainstream journalists have so many objections to weblogs?

Answer

In his article Lasica talks about the relationship between traditional journalism and forms of journalism on weblogs and how this relationship is a symbiotic one. Blogging brings many benefits to journalism, for example in expanding the boundaries and in the providing new angles and insight. Still, many journalists are suspicious of the new medium. Because of notions of ‘fairness, accuracy and truth’, so they say. I think it has more to do with their own fears. I think they do see the power of the weblogs and are afraid that blogging will take over from them, from traditional media. According to Lasica, this is unlikely, because the audience will always need professional journalists to filter through the material to find the important stories (though he also acknowledges that bloggers are sometimes sooner in discovering some important item). Traditional journalism should instead include active participation.  

D. Gillmor ‘Moving toward participatory journalism’

Question

Gillmor says the journalism of the future is participatory. This kind of journalism will offer ‘exciting possibilities for […] journalists and active consumers’. What form will this take according to Gillmor? Will this happen?

Answer

According to him, journalists should take on blogging themselves. Newspapers also should offer readers the option to start news blogs. It is most important to generate a conversation between bloggers and journalists, because both could learn from what the other has to say. Journalists could get new angles from the bloggers and invite people to give their expert opinion. The bloggers could use the stories written by the journalists to use on their sites and to comment on it. Gillmor sees some problems, which primarily develop from the mutual prejudices. Journalists will be afraid that the bloggers don’t take aspects as trust and veracity in account and the media organisations behind the journalists will want to regulate and perhaps even shut down p2p technologies.

Gillmor doesn’t mention any objections from the side of the users in this article. I do think however, that the bloggers will want more power, other than just providing the mainstream journalists with new angles that will be ascribed to them, not to the bloggers. How can bloggers be more involved? That will be very hard, at least with the current media organisations. As Lasica says, we will always need ‘real’ journalists to filter through all stories and bring us the news. For this system to change, journalists and bloggers need to trust each other. And that is not yet true; it will take time. Throughout history, people have always been informed by a select group of people. To enter a system were anyone can be a journalist would also take some time getting used to on the side of the public.

L. van Middelaar ‘On logos and grassroots: the anti-globalisation movement between moral, economics and politics’

Question

What does Middelaar mean when he says that the ‘part-time consumers mistake a consequence for a cause’?

Answer

Middelaar makes this claim in the context of adbusting and culture jamming. Both are instruments of the anti-globalisation movement and involve the parodying of advertisements or logos and the usage of billboards. Part of this movement is the ‘Buy nothing day’. The consequence that is mistaken for a cause is the consuming of products or logos and brands. Middelaar states that the effects of such actions are merely negative. Furthermore, just buying nothing for a day is no way to get out of ‘the world of money’. This may be true, but I think that the activists aren’t able to use any means with more direct effects on the companies, the politics and governments, the causes they are trying to fight against. They do not have enough power or even, ironically, money for that. Perhaps the anti-globalisation movement is not widespread enough, or there are not enough active members. What is left is to at least make an objection, make themselves heard.

Last question coming up!!