AR; On international news and the internet

Guy Berger writes about how the internet affects (or at least proposes to affect) the concept, idea, practice and flow of international news (the article is about to be published in the International Communication Gazette).

“This article shows that while some First World media [...] are chanting the mantra of becoming ‘hyperlocal’, it is much of the first world that is experiencing the Internet as an international medium, albeit from a subordinate cultural and linguistic position.”

I wasn’t entirely convinced with the the paper; there were a bit too many connections only briefly pointed at, neglected or presented somewhat hazily, so that it all did not come together as a coherent argument. That said, it has some good and interesting points.

Correspondence – reflections on Dimitra Milioni’s article

What follows below is some reflections on Dimitra L. Milioni’s recent article “Probing the online counterpublic sphere: the case of Indymedia Athens”, published in Media, Culture & Society.

It’s long(ish). You’ve been warned.

AR; on blogs and political participation

 

It has been established that traditional informational media consumption correlates with political participation: in general, the more someone uses the media for informational purposes, the higher the chances that they will also be politically active (I’ll add a brief note on the causality behind this). Homero Gil De Zúñiga and his two colleagues looked at whether this applies in relation to blog consumption too; in an article recently published in New Media & Society.

 

Sparing the detailed description of methodology (quantitative analysis of surveys), here are the results.

 

AR; Political discussion in online chat?

Is political discussion possible in online chatrooms? It absolutely is, argues Jennifer Stromer-Galley in a recent article. She and Anna M. Martinson analysed chatroom conversations to see whether or not the particularities of this online form of communication hinder meaningful, coherent and engaged discussion about politics.

(Previous research tend to claim that chat is not really suitable for such discussion, as messages are short and fragmented, arguments are underdeveloped, and random, wild changes in topic are rife.)

We are all journalists now!

…argues Jan Servaes in a recently published short essay on the changing role and tasks of journalism education (in the US and in Europe). We’re all journalists insofar as, once the lack of information no longer poses a problem, the emphasis is on making knowledge out of it – that is, to interpret the information with reference to one’s personal needs and circumstances -, and this “knowledge-making” process is as much the task of the journalist as it is that of the ordinary citizen.

For both journalists and citizens the capacity and speed to access, retrieve, select and reproduce information and turn it into knowledge will determine power and facilitate change in the 21st century.

Servaes, Jan (2009). We are all journalists now! Journalism 10(3), 371-374.

Athens (and tweets)

Back from the New Media and Information conference – which was great both from a professional and a personal point of view! Some really interesting speeches and contacts. Despite shaky and rhapsodic wi-fi connection, I tried to cover the event – and at least one set of the parallel sessions – over Twitter. My notes can be read on my account, under the hashtag #mediaconf.

The million dollar question for the next decade

One need not idealize the newspaper press to recognize that to this day television, radio, and online news feed off the basic reporting that to an overwhelming extent comes from organizations whose economic survival no one knows how to guarantee. There are many questions about journalism in the next 10 years, none more important than that one.

Michael Schudson, on the future of journalism.

Schudson, Michael (2009): Ten years backwards and forwards. Journalism, 10(3), 368 – 370.

A renaissance on the horizon! (?)

“My point is a general forecast that in these days of global economic crisis people become genuinely interested in what is happening in the world – both far and near – feeding a hunger to know and to understand how all these events relate to their own life situation. Such a hunger renders support to quality journalism: a compelling need for reliable information on economy, environment and society. [...] I see on the horizon a renaissance for good old quality journalism.”

Kaarle Nordenstreng, on the future of journalism. Would this be a silver lining in the dark cloud of the economic crisis?

Nordenstreng, Kaarle (2009): A renaissance on the horizon!, Journalism 10 (3), 356-357.

Why does alternative journalism matter?

 

Because professional journalism can learn from it – mostly given the fact that alternative journalism, whether online or of the more traditional sorts, relies on a firmer social basis, on a firmer connectedness between writer and audience, than professional journalism.

This is how Chris Atton answers the question in the title, according to an article published in the most recent issue of Sage’s Journalism. The 10th anniversary special issue is dedicated to an overview of what prominent scholars think about the future – of journalism. I plan to present here the abstract of some of the most interesting papers.

Atton, Chris (2009): “Why alternative journalism matters”, Journalism 10 (3), 283 – 285.

AR; On motivations of file sharers

A recently published short article enquires into the motivations of file sharers – a topic always in the limelight – and especially now, with all the commotion happening around The Pirate Bay. I originally decided to read the article in order to learn about its methodology – structured, in-depth interviews with 40 file sharers qualitatively analysed -, and although in this respect the article disappoints (of course it’s understandable that the authors didn’t want to waste valuable space on the methodology), I figured I might as well write a short summary here.