Greenberg- "There's going to be a lot more of it."
Wilson- It is "inherently unpredictable...the social media becomes the glue that helps us understand" the consumer. Media will become a "socially mediated" function.
Michelle Lee: What do you think about the growing popularity of new media generators like Slate and the Huffington Post? Will the media landscape start to rely on those models?
Wilson- They are important and real. "There is still a vanishingly small portion of media generating sources that are out there." They are still very small in the scheme of things.
Greenberg- Huffington Post still takes much of its information from traditional media. Texas Tribune is worth looking at. They use a different business model than traditional media sources are using.
Gearheart- Sites like Propublica are on the non-profit model and won a Pulitzer. If ethical institutions start doing that, this model could work.
Conclusion of media forum and refreshments.
“What do you think the future holds for new media, especially in terms of citizen involvement? This was the final, and for me the most interesting topic that was presented to our panelists during our forum. Mr. Greenberg’s response was short but sweet. He said, “There’s going to be a lot more of it”. His response made me reflect on the rapid advancement of the media in such a short span of time. The rise of blackberry and IPHONE’s has brought media right into the hands of so many people. The growing popularity of laptops over the past decade has enabled citizens to get new anytime and anywhere. The rapid advancement of today’s media such as blogging and twittering seems to have blown up in just a year. Mr. Greenberg’s comment makes me wonder if the culture of our media can change that much in just a few years, how much will in change in the next decade?
ReplyDeleteMr. Wilson responded to this question with the response that I was expecting. He said, “It is inherently unpredictable…the social media becomes the glue that helps us understand the consumer. Media will become a socially mediated function”. It is impossible to predict what new technologies will allow media to become in the future but I agree with Mr. Wilson that it will and maybe already is a socially mediated function. I think that with the increasing amount of bloggers and other media sources that are not major media outlets, the media culture will need to self-mediate to insure responsible reporting. I feel that the media world will need a checks and balances type system. The government uses this to insure equally distributed power but the media could use this system as a was to spread news and also insure responsible and factual reporting.
I agree with what both Griff and the panelists are saying about the future of citizen involvement in the media. I am not personally a fan of blogs as news sources. Most of the work done by bloggers is not original and I would rather go directly to the source, usually a large media institution, than be fed what could easily be a watered-down if not entirely incorrect description of what actually occurred.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Greenberg is correct in his belief that there will be a growth in citizen involvement in the media in the coming years. Griff was on target in describing how the new generation of cell phones and the accessibility of laptops and wireless coverages puts the availability of news at an all time high. However, I think that the true media institutions, on both the local, national and global level have the most experience and resources to report the news. As citizens we should be involved in supporting these institutions rather than undermine them through blogging. Yes, there should be involvement. No, it should not necessarily be direct involvement.
I agree with Clair in that I prefer to go to legitimate news sources, like a newspaper, to find my information on the news. However, I believe that some of her claims about citizen journalism in new media are misleading. Firstly, Claire says that “most of the work done by bloggers is not original.” While I agree that most bloggers to not acquire their own information, as many of the panelists stated, I do think that bloggers add their own important, original opinions regarding the information. These original thoughts have turned new media into a conversation, instead of a lecture from professionals towards the public. This conversation can not only add to the public’s understanding of issues, but it can also help the traditional media professionals understand the public. From this understanding professional journalists can report on news that is more pertinent to the public.
ReplyDeleteBloggers’ usage of professional journalists’ information obviously presents serious challenges, as it hurts the revenue of the journalists and their news organizations. I agree with Claire that citizens should not try to “undermine” professional news organizations, but not blogging is not the solution. Professional media outlets must find a new business model, so that they can continue to provide the public important information. Professionals undoubtedly have more resources and are more able to find and report information to the public. This does not mean that bloggers should have no place in the news ecosystem. Both professional and citizen journalists must find a way to report and add their opinions in harmony
I would submit that I don't particularly care to hear many people's opinion -- while some discussion on topics is worthwhile, it is possible that bloggers could just muddy the water with uninformed opinions.
ReplyDelete