When we have decided to write about community media on this blog,we have overviewed different topics and theme within Community Media.What is Community media,what can be the purposes of Community media,we have seen different facets of the them.Last week Isaac had mentionned the digital divide which I think is one of the inequality within which layed Community Media.
New technologies offer wider options for communicating but is also restricting because not everyone can access it.Technology is expensive and sometimes requirment of licences make it difficult to some countries to access technology légaliy,which I think is part of the digital divide.Now except for the technical/financial innequalities,I would like to focus my post on the reason why community Media is not always a way for smaller groups or individuals to express themselves.
First and foremost,as a summary of last weeks posts,we discussed how Community Media could be helpful to raise a voice,share opinions,we agreed more or less that Community Media can be a factor and a way of self expression.Now impleting the role of journalism even what I would call fast food journalism including blogs,pages on social network ,I would like to brings some litarature which discuss the role of globalisation/technical progress and social networks within our modern democracies and eocnomies.
According to Anu Kantola (Reclaiming the Media Communication Rights and Democratic Media Roles,chapter 9,page 192),journalism is the balance which hold democracy in a globalised system where economy and politic is mixed.I quote:
“Journalism offers information on political issues, gives an opportunity to bring
up new political issues, creates opportunities for an ongoing dialogue and acts
as a watchdog of the decision-makers.”
I think it is an interesting and true point of view,however if we take the exemple of internet and all the social platforms it offers ,it is difficult to imagine that it can be the case all the time.Now professional journalism and personal initiatives with blog and social network interractions are mixed on the internet.
I wonder how a corporation,can perfectly represents the opinions of it’s members,employees and how an idea can reflect the individual thoughts of a social group,maybe the idea of a group is to be one voiced,but when a group ,even a corporation use new media to represent the ideas of it’s members,I doubt that all ideas,thoughs and opinions are well expressed.
I think also about social network group,like groups on facebook which defend causes.Their title is often appealling and people would virtually participate to the debates,but the whole idea,though crucial and interesting have something superficial within as well.
Last week Isaac mentionned manipulation through media (mass media and new media) and I agree that it can be the case often with new media because it seems more liebrated while it has the exact same risks than mass media.The only difference is that old media are known and that people have a tendency to fear them while new media are more exciting and people ar enot always aware of how to check or welcome the many informations of social platforms.
I also think about a case read in the Intercommunicado paper about a computer development launched in a university in Cuba (UCI university),in which students and staff working for this programme seemed to lack of liberty of experession,also the programme was not independant since the cuban ministry of information and communication (then the State) was supervising it and controlling it completely according to the intercommunicado.
To me it seemed interesting that internet,an important element of freedom could be used to even increase a secular system of politic.
Sophie
