Comments on: Individual reading: the 11 layers of citizen journalism

By: khairup

khairup — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:57:47 +0000

Sorry for coming in a bit late.

Great discussion. I agree with number of points above.

I would like to caution all of you at solely relying on popular opinion or wisdom of the crowd which is what wikis are all about.

Would our society have progressed as much in the past 50-100 years if we were to solely rely on popular opinion?

By: noltes2

noltes2 — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:03:43 +0000

Well said everybody! Wiki’s are the newest medium of news and eventually they might be prominent in our culture. This reminds me of when CD’s first became popular (I think I was in 4th grade)… At first my family and I were like, “No way are we converting to CD’s! We like tapes!” And within a few years, tapes were off the market prominently and we too were buying CD’s because we had to.

Whether we convert to Wiki news now or later, it’s probably going to happen!

By: noltes2

noltes2 — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:03:42 +0000

Whether we convert to Wiki news now or later, it’s probably going to happen!

By: Jason C

Jason C — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:38:11 +0000

I would also agree with you comment that this can be overwhelming but I also think that in reality this is not something that is going to require every person to actively participate. Some of the most drastic transitions in history are started by just a few dedicated people

By: huifenh

huifenh — Tue, 13 May 2008 00:02:22 +0000

Khair: I totally agree that as much as blogosphere is diverse, the people who have access to the means of blogging and consuming the information are people who can afford them. In that case, a blog is not really considered an alternative media but another avenue for the rich to rant and spread their “gospel”.

I agree that wiki is scary and yet, we would soon become obsolete like the scribes if we fail to embrace it. Let’s start loving wikinews!

By: Nicole

Nicole — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:41:41 +0000

I hear you Faith! This whole blogging thing is pretty complex when you think about it… sometimes this class goes over my head, but I’m definitely learning. I suppose, just like everything else, the blogsphere is a work in progress… someday we’ll get the hang of it all!

By: noltes2

noltes2 — Mon, 12 May 2008 06:08:22 +0000

Faith – the article you summarized is very interesting and is the idealist notion that many people today hold. But is idealism always achievable? As we discussed in class, wiki’s do have many downfalls. I share all of your concerns that a wiki in journalism can be a scary thing. All I know is alot of journlists would be out of a job if it were up to everyone to produce the news.

By: khairup

khairup — Thu, 08 May 2008 07:16:54 +0000

Faith – great summary!

I do share similar concerns with regards to whether this can work in a society without free press. One might ask “what is free press?” “what is truly free?” Does free press mean allowing the relatively upper strata of society provide views and correct each other? Is it truly free press, as in does it allow the most truest representation of the state of the society that we live in?

Sure, wiki’s and especially its largest and most successful implementation – wikipedia – has provided a model which is “more fair” than others but without doubt it has its own drawbacks and one can argue that it is still NOT free press.

By: huifenh

huifenh — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:18:13 +0000

Thanks for all your comments. I definitely agree with Jason that there are eyes everywhere on the Internet and someone will read your blog. Indeed revolution of the society lies in the hands of those who want it. And the Internet has made advocacy such an easy job to do, I certainly share your view that one day, oppressive regimes may be toppled without arms, but with binary digits.

Nicole: I have the same feelings too regarding the article. I feel a sense of optimism. However, I believe that there is a lot of work for us to do to reach that 11th layer and sometimes I am just too lazy and apathetic to try to learn the tools of a journalist cum blogger needs. It gets too technical at times!

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 08 May 2008 03:44:57 +0000

Faith- good job summarizing the article! I definitely share some of the same thoughts with you… I want to be optimistic about the future of media and yet, sometimes I find it very difficult. Especially, when so many of my Com. classes here at UW, reiterate the death of the newspaper and the ever-changing online world. I think this article is really interesting because it really does give hope for a new, improved media outlet. Obviously, this is the “best case scenario” of new journalism, but we’re on our way to acheiving it already. In response to your first question: I think this new form of journalism will definitely help the countries that do not have the luxery of free press. As long as they can write anonymously, there is no reason they can’t blog away!