We will start our discussion today with a question. Take a few minutes at the beginning of class and write an answer to this question on your weblog:
What is journalism?
Be sure to take a couple of paragraphs to actually think through this question in your entry. (In general, treat your weblog writing as an opportunity for you to “think out loud.” Don’t worry too much about creating perfect writing–produce a rough draft that demonstrates your thinking.)
Don’t just give a simple answer to the question, “What is journalism?” but make your discussion more complex by considering related questions such as: Why is (or isn’t) journalism important? What does it do for us? How do you (or other people) use the news? Who is a journalist? Or come up with other related questions of your own.
Once you have had a few minutes to begin writing, we will discuss this question as a group. If you don’t have a chance to finish your entry today, be sure it is completed and posted on your weblog before class on Wednesday.
Some important ideas from our “We Media” reading assignment:
- “Participatory journalism: The act of a citizen, or group of citizens, playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information. The intent of this participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires.” (We Media, pg. 9)
- Broadcast vs. Intercast (see graphic)
- OhmyNews and its Citizen Journalism pages
- Media Ecosystem (see graphic): Traditional (hierarchical, commercial, broadcast, advertising focused; filter then publish) vs. Participatory (networked, conversational, collaborative, egalitarian; publish then filter)
- Dan Gillmor’s principles of “we media” movement (“We Media” pg. 13):
“• My readers know more than I do.
“• That is not a threat, but rather an opportunity.
“• We can use this together to create something between a seminar and a conversation, educating all of us.
“• Interactivity and communications technology — in the form of email, weblogs, discussion boards, websites and more — make it happen.”
