Amelia’s notes on We the Media 1 - 4
Oct 6th, 2008 by lynn
Blog for We the Media Chapters 1-4
Chapters one and two of We the Media is an introduction to the technology that can be used in respect for journalism. All of the advances in technology discusssed in the beginning of We the Media have allowed the average citizen the chance not only to state their opinion by blogging but to have more options on where they get the news. The media has changed as a result of the internet and the public has the chance to change the way the corporate news channels work.
I have never thought much about blogs before this class though I always enjoyed the trashy celebrity news blogs to pass the time. I never spent much time reading the blogs about news as I tended to focus on the news that popped up on my windows sidebar or on my BBC news homepage. However, I never discredited blogs as I knew that they were coming from ordinary people who just wanted an outlet to say what they thought. Though I knew I would often disagree with peoples opinions on the blogs I never questioned their right to them.
Despite this, opinions are obviously not always based in fact and so numerous blogs cannot be taken too seriously. While I will likely now use blogs more often to gather information, I will still rely on numerous credible news sources for most of my news. I don’t trust corporate news sources not to be biased necessarily but gathering from more than one and using foreign sources will allow me to come up with my own opinion. These first two chapters of We the Media lay out how technology has changed the field of journalism. Understanding this change will help me in the future regarding how to interpret and communicate with all outlets of media.
Chapters three and five of We the Media focus on how web journalism has changed the field across the board. Communication has changed enormously since the introduction of the internet and now anyone with a computer and internet access can write a blog on any topic under the sun. While many people use it as a journal of sorts others actually write about news and politics and it is these blogs that often catch the most attention. As bloggers attack the politian they don’t like or the mistake the government most recently made the liability levels are higher than ever. There is nothing private anymore. The Monica Lewinsky scandal proved that. Had blogs been as prominent 10 years ago the bloggers would have had a field day over it.
The internet has changed the way that presidential, senate and congress candidates run for office. It has also changed the way people research the candidates they will ultimately vote for. Gilmour makes it clear he feels he has embraced the new media and the way journalism is changing. However for people who are younger the internet is something that do not really remember not having.
I can remember making my first screen name on AIM when I was about 8. I also remember starting to email my cousins in England from an early age and using the internet for homework all though middle and high school. I began using the internet for news almost exclusively in high school when I did not get home early enough to watch news and was too busy during the nine o’clock news to watch tv.
As technology advances more and the media continues to change with it the importance of understanding the online aspect of journalism increases and I feel that understanding this is crucial. Bloggers and online news sources have changed journalism and it is only going to continue to grow.