The Impact of the Internet on Press Freedom Blogging, Citizen Journalism, Internet News…

The Internet  Discuss media journals—use of citizen journalism  Lecture on the effect of the Internet on global journalism—the Indian example  Final media journal assignment: choose an article on Afghanistan and discuss the importance of knowing this information as a “basic human right.”

Reading Discussion  Citizen journalism in your countries.  Korean example: a magazine journalist who wanted out of the establishment media that was aligned with conservative politics. Do we have a similar example in the U.S.?  The First Amendment and citizen journalism—in fact, one thing we do know is that it was to protect the “lone pamphleteer”—the person who wants to write and distribute their opinion.

Reading discussion  Is citizen journalism and the network effect of the Internet as revolutionary as the invention of the printing press?  What does it mean that information has been “democratized?”  “Social networks are the new cities. If people choose to gather there we must be there too.”  Technology does nothing—humans use technology—both in the ways it was invented and for uses that were never dreamed of

David Morley  “The Geography of the New”  The idea that “the shadow geographies of the imperial past” are still with us. What does that mean.  The idea that globalization—egged on by technology—would result in a more cohesive society: has that happened?  Or do we live in far more fractured societies—or does technology simply show us those fractures.  The human is the medium and the message

The final question Is access to information a basic human right? *particularly in areas where information can keep you safe and keep you alive) *is it a basic human right to report news? *What’s the difference between a citizen and a journalist?

From zero to everywhere  Took 38 years for radio to amass 50 million users in the U.S.  Took 15 years for television to amass the same number of users  Took the Internet four years to get to 50 million users—just in the U.S.

What does this mean for journalism?  Newspapers are losing 41 jobs a day  But Talking Points Memo is hiring  Shifts the control from a few to the many.  Media is no longer a lecture hall, but a multi- dimensional conversation between millions, if not billions of people.  But the Internet is also the proverbial “Tower of Babel”—everyone talking and no one listening.  An almost-overwhelming amount of information requires a new model for “curating” the news.

What do you think?  Does the ‘net empower individuals and diminish the power of the gatekeepers?  Freedom of the press today isn’t about who owns a printing press—but who can “shout” the loudest online?  Do we confuse activity (tweeting, blogging, facebook) with empowerment?

What does it mean for press freedom, globally and in the U.S?  The ‘Net was hailed as a great liberator when it first took hold, but as we’ve seen it can be controlled.  Turkey, Syria, China, Thailand, Saudi Arabia all censor the Internet  Google, Yahoo, AOL, and MSN: How are they different from Sulzberger, Murdoch…they control the headlines you see on your home page…  Bloggers who once flew under the radar now face the same constraints as journalists  Burmese blogger sentenced to 20 years in prison for posting a cartoon of military leader Than Shwe

But are there good reasons to control the Internet?

Media & Sovereignty Reasons to control  Illegal or harmful content  In the U.S., pornographic, V-chip controls  In Europe, hate media is controlled—Danish Muhammed cartoon  In Africa, hate speech controlled  In China, national security, social control defined as reasons for control Reasons to control  Ireland found ten categories worth controlling—but what does this do to the open nature of the Internet, including:  National security  Damage to reputation  Gambling  Infringements on intellectual property

Media & Sovereignty Reasons to control  In Germany, controls on issues related to the Internet--Internet sites can’t sell Nazi related items  In Singapore, control anything that possibly disrupts social order or incites disaffection with the government  In China, control has spread to forcing Google out of the country  But the Chinese don’t seem to upset about this…nor do the Chinese companies who now have a wide open market without the most powerful search engine.

Media and Sovereignty  Can we really control the Internet, while remaining consistent with its ideals of openness?  Should we separate the words illegal and harmful from the debate over controlling the Internet?  Should the Internet self-regulate or be controlled by laws?  If access to information is a basic human right, then controlling the Internet denies that right, or not?

The problems and promise of the Internet U.S.  Tower of Babel  Only looking at the information that is relevant to “my” life  Internet may lead to a lack of civic engagement—instead of what we had hoped for.  Who do we believe? Fake news story about Sarah Palin. World  Censorship and control— when we thought it wouldn’t be possible  Blogging in countries where traditional journalism ethics still haven’t grown up.  Internet access still is a problem in many parts of the world, especially Africa

What’s the upside? U.S.  The Internet is the perfect medium for journalism—if we can figure out how we get paid.  New models of journalism will bring new energy to the industry  Traditional media informed—new media empowers World  Citizen journalism has brought us more information and news than ever before  A drive for modernity— including embracing the Internet—is driving countries to rethink their censorship policies.  Creation of journalism is far cheaper than ever before

Taj Mahal Hotel Thanksgiving weekend 2008 Three days of terror with bombings, killing, shootings 179 people dead, 22 of them foreigners, 300 injured

Traditional media  How the international media covered itthe international media  The New York Times’ traditional sourcingsourcing

Citizen Journalism  From Twitter to Dipity, Mumbai attacks are covered in journalistic fashion by citizensTwitter to Dipity  CBS News on the role of citizen media CBS News

The final questions Is access to information a basic human right? (particularly in a region where information can keep you safe and keep you alive)

April 7 Graham Griffith Marsh Lecture Reception 5:00 pm – Lecture 6:00 pm The Amphitheatre in the Rackham Building

End of the semester  April 12: discussion on third final exam essay question: Is access to information a basic human right? Readings: Chapters in “Graveyard of Empires.” Discuss Afghanistan Project posting/news of the Day  Monday, April 14:  Lecture and Discussion: Toward a New World Order.  Bring one idea for how you would change the media for the better in your “country.”  Wrap up the “In the Graveyard of the Empires.”  Monday, April 19: Final Exam review  Readings: choose one story in Granta to read and discuss in class.