Reflecting on Independent Media

I initially chose to take this class because I wanted to learn more about independent media and how I could report on it. I learned in my time at Ithaca College that the mainstream media had lost much of their credibility over the years and as the advent of the Internet provided independent media with an easily accessible outlet, and that the news media that I would enter would not be the same as the old media. I realized that it would behoove me to learn what I could about independent media in order to prepare myself for my career as a journalist.

The changes are to some degree unsettling. I had initially hoped to work for a newspaper for the entirety of my career, eventually becoming editor of the news section; my interest in that field was due to my skill as a writer, and my interest in that position was in order to combine my talents at editing with my knowledge in reporting and ensure that the paper contained the best stories. Unfortunately, it became apparent over time that not only was a permanent career at any single news outlet very unlikely, but that newspapers were declining, and that it would become harder than ever to get a job at one. After hearing about the failures of the mainstream media, I wondered if I could get a job in the independent media, and hoped to learn more about it.

This course and many of the journalism events that I attended helped me learn more about independent media and how to get involved in it. The talk by Josh Marshall and the assignment in designing and pitching an independent media outlet helped me see how news outlets could be created. Much o the readings about past independent media showed how they were often limited by how they were distributed, and how the Internet was an important benefit for such outlets. In the process, I also learned about well-intentioned independent media outlets that lost sight of their purpose or went out of business, showing that independent media are only as good as those running them, and the potential challenge in being recognized as legitimate journalists.

Despite the difficulties associated with independent media today, and the difficulty in getting a job in the current economy, I hope to work in independent media. While in it, I would less likely encounter restrictions on what I could or could not report, or attempts to let the bottom line dictate reporting, and would thus be able to report with fewer interferences. Change is not necessarily always for the worse, and while the rise of online independent media may force journalists to rethink what they learn, it also presents the possibility of making the news media fairer and more informative, a possibility young journalists should strive to make reality.

The Internet: Another Medium With Its Gatekeepers

The Internet is unprecedented among means for producing news because it is accessible to nearly anyone. While the digital divide remains a persistent problem, obtaining the means to produce a blog is as simple as purchasing a computer with internet access, making it easily accessible to ordinary people without connections or access to loans to start up a business.

Unfortunately, like many other means for citizens to express themselves, the Internet has the potential to be co-opted, either by the government or by private interests. The idea of giving access to "fast lanes" on the Internet is antithetical to the idea of universal accessibility, as it puts individual bloggers at a disadvantage by having their content processed more slowly. The plan, if enacted, would thus make it even harder for smaller news sites to maintain their online presence and compete with the larger and faster-loading pages, and would serve to exacerbate typical advantages based on money on the Internet.

Making one's content prominent on the Internet is another issue that independent journalists face. This is often accomplished by having other sites, a notable example being the Drudge Report, feature one's work, but to do so, one's work must be prominent enough to become noticed. Search engines, as I mentioned before, operate under various algorithms that people can exploit to make their site appear more relevant to the results than it should be. This process helps people who know enough about working the system more than it helps people with truly original and in-depth reporting, showing that hard work and talent do not necessarily guarantee success.

The Internet, while being accessible to everyone, does not guarantee prominence to every Internet journalist, or even distribute it in a fair way. Although search engines can be optimized and proposals to give greater connection speed to organizations that pay more can be defeated, neither can address people favoring more prominent inferior news sites to less prominent superior sites. The only way to address this is to help inform them about their decisions and help educate them about what makes a good internet news source. While the Internet's structure helps affect how people see their choices, it is up to them to make their decisions as to what sources of information are best and most important for them, and if they support the ones that do it well, good journalism will prosper online.

The Darker Side of Blog Journalism and the Danger of Romanticizing It

Blogs' presenting an alternative to mainstream journalism has made people more aware than ever of the limitations that journalism has, especially its reliance on keeping profit to satisfy owners and shareholders, potentially at the cost of journalism; its potential to be out of touch with the concerns of everyday people; its alleged biases, especially liberal; ant its access being closed to all but a highly educated and trained elite. Unfortunately, blogs also have their limitations, which some people gloss over in seeing them as ideal.

Blogs can update almost constantly, and deliver news more quickly than print media outlets and some television stations, but this comes at a cost. Some bloggers may choose to only do breaking news, and in the constant pressure to be first, may turn their back on analyzing the news or trying to delve deeper into issues. This results in their coverage often being uninformed or misinformed, similar to television news trying to determine how many planes were hijacked on September 11, 2001, how many people died, and where the attack came from. While people rightly want to know about events like September 11 as soon as possible, inaccurate journalism does them no good.

The other major problem that bloggers face is going against much of the professionalism that the news media are supposed to practice. While many bloggers, lacking journalistic training, are unaware of ethical issues, others scorn them out of a belief that they know how to report news better than the mainstream media, and that its way is inevitably wrong. Such blogs tend to be full of the stories that they think the media should report on more, often with less regard for how newsworthy they would be if an objective standpoint existed. For example, a right-wing blog that sees society as hostile to religion might play up a story over students being chastized by their teachers for praying in class, hoping to stir public outrage over the story rather than make the viewers aware about the issue and inform them to help them develop their opinions. Such bloggers may defend their biased reporting by arguing that there is no such thing as objectivity and the mainstream media are trying to artificially balance the sides to favor the weaker opposing side, or that the mainstream media are biased in the opposite direction. Both arguments miss the point that the bloggers set out with a goal in mind, and did not give a serious effort to consider both sides.

Rather than portray view blogging as an individualistic cure to the mainstream media forcing journalists to produce stories in line with their preferences or as a means of giving untrained people in their pajamas equal footing with people who have spent decades in the industry, people should see them both as journalists working under different frameworks. While bloggers have fewer restrictions than mainstream journalists, their responsibilities are the same, as is the human potential to skew the news according to one's own biases. Objectivity may be unattainable, but bloggers can and should make a good faith effort, and must do so if they hope to surpass mainstream journalism.

Mayhill Fowler: A Question of Journalistic Intentions

I found the presentation on Tuesday's discussion of Mayhill Fowler's coverage of "Bittergate" and Bush's response to the new book about him interesting, as the issue of identifying oneself as a blogger relates to the question of where and how bloggers fit into the news media. The troubling thing is that Fowler did not give any indication that she was a journalist, as in the Bittergate case, she donated money to enter the event, something a journalist typically is discouraged from doing, and in the story about Clinton, asked her question while describing the book as a "hatchet job," immediately making herself seem like a supporter who wanted to hear Clinton denounce the author. While public figures, especially politicians, should not let their guard down and say things like what Obama and Clinton did at these events out of the belief that they will not be recorded, the journalists should make their intent clear when asking questions, and Fowler clearly did not seem to consider that the people whom she was quoting did not see her as a reporter.

This case has interesting ramifications for the debate over whether bloggers can be considered journalists. The event where Obama made his "Bittergate" remarks was closed to traditional press, but Fowler managed to enter and upload an item about the event to the website. The Obama campaign clearly did not consider the possibility of citizen journalists entering the event, or see bloggers as on the same level as mainstream journalists, or else they would most likely have required the guests to sign agreements about publishing it online. However, as long as bloggers are not given the same consideration as mainstream journalists, they will never be given the same amount of respect, and will continue to be denied access to events where only those with press credentials are admitted. Bloggers should work to remedy this by gaining recognition, and to do so, should attempt to show that they abide by journalistic ethics, starting with making their affiliations, intentions and aims in their reporting clear to those they cover.

Journalists' Political Activism: Putting On The Wrong Public Face

I disagree with the comments opposing typical rules against journalists participating in politics. I acknowledge that journalists have opinions and will inevitably be biased to some degree on issues, and as such, agree that there will be no such thing as truly "objective" reporting. However, I also believe that journalists' political acts have consequences beyond displaying their political opinions. Taking part in activism amounts to offering material support for political causes, and does not only show the journalists' support for them, but also their commitment to make their ideals reality, thus leading some to believe, not entirely without justification, that their reporting is intended to favor their cause.

Even if journalists claim to do their activism as individuals, they will inevitably be seen as representing their media organization. For example, if a newspaper has many reporters who participate in marches for right-wing causes, people will commonly assume that the paper hires such individuals more frequently, even if the paper has a "silent majority" of more liberal staff. The readers would thus likely doubt their motives behind publishing pieces that are good news for conservative causes, even if they are written by the less conservative writers. The paper may thus be blamed for letting these journalists do as they please, and giving the impression to their peers and the public that their actions are acceptable and in keeping with journalistic principles.

These conflicts of interest may not always reflect journalists being willing to use their positions to advance their causes, but like Mayhill Fowler's actions with Bittergate and Clinton, give every reason to believe their apparent motive and no indication of what they are truly intending to do. As long as the public believes that journalists are willing to put personal causes ahead of their commitment to journalism, they will never trust them fully. The Society of Professional Journalist thus advocates doing away with both real and imagined conflicts of interest, and to do so, journalists should completely refrain from political activism, both ones where the public would easily notice them and the ones where they would not. Journalists may not be completely objective, but they can be fair, and part of that lies in recognizing how their actions appear to the public and conducting themselves in a way that presents themselves as professional as they are.

Seven New Trends in the Internet

I found Professor Isakov's lecture on information technology highly interesting, especially because many of the technologies that were mentioned had the potential to impact my life and my internet use on several levels, and challenged some of my perceptions about the use of technology.

Part of the reason why much of the presentation was surprising was because such ideas went beyond how I typically used technology. I was initially surprised to hear that four billion people- over half the Earth's human population- used mobile computing devices to access the internet, as I found it almost inconceivable that the Internet could have become so widespread, especially given the considerable "digital divide" even in the United States. However, I then remembered that some non-profit organizations that had participated in microeconomics had lent women in developing countries cell phones, and agreed with Professor Isakov's observation that such devices were cheaper than computers. Having almost never used the camera on my cell phone, my initial reaction to hearing about the QR codes was skepticism, as I initially believed them to be little more than a gimmick. I was then intrigued to hear about the possibility of them being used to create extra space in newspapers, but upon further reflection, I am concerned that this change might potentially alienate the more traditionally-minded newspaper readers.

This may be the result of my being somewhat slow to adopt technological trends into my lifestyle. While I regularly use my cell phone and e-mail, I hardly ever access Facebook, and I do not Twitter.

These technologies may very well change my habits, which is something I often find difficult, particularly when it comes to technology. Upon initially hearing about Google alternatives, I had already known about Google's deficiencies from articles like this one, but had grown used to using it and doubted I could easily replace it. I tried Kosmix a few times, and found it superior to Google. It effectively sorted the results, giving me the ones I needed, and helping to put them into categories, but it may take me a while before I start regularly using it over Google. On the other hand, the concept of storing documents online is not a new one for me, as I occasionally e-mail documents to myself when transferring them between my home computer and my laptop, thus following a similar principle.

The Internet is a constantly changing technology, and it is important to keep abreast of the various new innovations that are out there. Such changes may force us to keep different habits, but they also redefine the way information reaches us, and open up new opportunities for those willing to take them.

Amy Goodman and Glenn Greenwald

Amy Goodman and Glenn Greenwald presented insightful talks about their experiences in independent media at tonight's Izzy Awards, and helped talk about how they report as they do and what implications it has.

Unfortunately, not everyone is willing to make the risks and sacrifices associated with investigative journalism that challenges powerful individuals. For many journalists, merely going out, getting the necessary information, writing the story and filing it on time takes most of their talent and energy, and those people may not want to be bothered with reading additional documents or going the extra mile for additional sources. The publication itself may place limits on what journalists can publish, threatening them with disciplinary action if they go outside those bounds. Such journalists, concerned with keeping their jobs or obtaining desired promotions, may avoid writing provocative articles in order to avoid being labeled as a troublemaker. Far greater external risks accompany journalists on certain stories, including being arrested or being killed by governments or organizations that do not appreciate what they are uncovering.

While journalists who back down from what they know to be true for these reasons are doing so for selfish motives, it is important to acknowledge that these concerns are real. Journalism is already a very competitive job market, and the pressure to obtain a job at a respectable publication can lead people to do anything that is necessary to outshine the competition. It can be frustrating for journalists to watch people with ambition but few principles climb the hierarchy, especially when such people eventually make decisions about which stories to run.

However, while these pressures may be present and troubling, they do not change what is right or what the implications of journalists' decisions are. If journalists continue to publish uncritical articles about what the government is doing, misconceptions will spread and it will be that much harder for journalists who understand what is really going on to counteract them. That vicious cycle also legitimizes this kind of shallow reporting above and beyond what pressures do, thus making it seem acceptable to impressionable journalists.

The only real way to counteract this trend and create an environment in which journalists are able to do hard-hitting investigative journalism regardless of who is being covered is simply for mainstream news media to adopt the same kind of commitment to journalism that the independent media do. This can involve various methods, such as reducing dependence on advertisers, or by the public putting pressure on the media, but they all ultimately involve moral clarity and being willing to see issues in terms of ethical values, rather than material gain or loss. Goodman appropriately demonstrated that kind of courage at the conventions, especially when she and her producers were arrested for filming demonstrations, and it was appropriately contrasted with the NBC reporter who remained in the skybox. The best example Goodman provided of simple courage was the story of the President's Scholars who presented then-President Bush with a letter asking him to oppose torture. Some people may respond to Goodman's following argument that children best understand morality by arguing that children do such things because they are too young and naive to understand the nuances of the world- like what constitutes torture or the financial pressures the news media face- but for the most part, such children are better at seeing things in terms of right and wrong and less likely to confuse what they want with what is best for the public.

Mainstream journalism has too often become seen as a means of doing business by providing people with information, rather than a means of providing people with the best possible situation and only requiring money to stay in business and enable its employees to make a living. While Greenwald and Goodman may be "independent" journalists, journalism, as Greenwald said, journalism, by nature, is supposed to be independent, and journalists should strive to live up to their example.