We the Media ch 4
Oct 29th, 2008 by lynn
Chapter four of We the Media focus on the idea of the newsmakers turning the tables. This means that those who are usually written about do the writing. My favorite part of the chapter came from the section about Mark Cuban and his Blog. I am from Dallas, and have been a Mavericks fan since I moved from the United Kingdom over twelve years ago. When I first started going to games the Mavericks were a mediocre team at best. Then Mark Cuban brought them and everything changed. Mark Cuban was an owner unlike anyone had seen before. A self made billionaire, Cuban was volatile, excitable and involved with his team sitting on the bench with his team in a Mavs sweat suit rather than watching from a luxury suite. He shouted at the referees and talked with the fan and he was noticed. Cuban started a blog and when Gillmor asked him why he chose to do a blog he responded with “I was tired of reading incomplete information or misinformation about what I was doing in the sports media. T
his was way to get the facts out.”
I also found the section on Microsoft interesting. I have ties to Microsoft that go deep and so reading about it on this level struck me. The author admitted to having his battles with the company but also conceded that they set a new standard. Bill Gates said that “the ultimate idea is to you should get the information you want when you want it” and so Microsoft allows there staff to blog. Gillmor admits that microsofts willingness to let employees blog and speak to the public “is a smart move for marketing and PR purposes. It tells me, among other things, that the empire is trying to be a little less evil.”
From this chapter, I realize how much blogging has allowed those who are written about to retaliate and in some way control their image. The internet has changed how the media can control a celebrity or companies public persona and that will affect the media for years to come.