One of my favorite ice-breakers is the game Two Truths and a Lie. The goal is for the audience to distinguish from the speakers three statements which is the lie. This game helps individuals learn more about strangers, but I also think it can be used as an analytical tool to further one’s understanding of research, articles or other complex subjects.
I was very intrigued by the interview with Farai Chideya in chapter six of “Dispatches from Blogistan.” I thought Chideya made several bold statements, some of which I agreed were true, but some I thought were false. In the spirit of games, I thought it would be exciting to play a game of Two Truths and a Lie to further explore and analyze Chideya’s views on blogging.
Statement #1: Concerning journalistic ethics, Chideya stated: “It’s not that citizen journalists will be held to the same standards as “mainstream” journalists, but that coming up with a set of ethical rules you follow will make you better” (88).
Statement #2: “In five years, there will be less and less meaning to being ‘print,’ or ‘online,’ or ‘audio’ or ‘video.’ Anyone who can be multimedia will be multimedia” (88).
Statement #3: On traditional media and blogging, “I think in some cases it works well and, in some cases, news organizations aren’t ready for the higher level of opinion and critique that comes with the blogosphere” (88).
So which statements do I agree are truthful and which do I believe is false?
Statements #1 and #2 are both accurate and truthful in my opinion. I agree that it is not practical to hold online, citizen journalists to the same standard as published, print journalists; however, I do believe it is possible for them to obtain a high level of credibility if they choose to follow the same basic journalistic guidelines. As discussed in class, a journalism degree does not make you a journalist. A degree helps you gain the skills to become a journalist, but its how you use the skills that truly define your ability as a journalist.
I also agree that the stigma between different types of media will continue to decrease until it is no more. We live in a digital age, and while there is still the issue of access to media for all, barriers are continually being lowered so that in the future this will no longer be an issue. Integrity, quality and credibility will be the similar, if not the same for all forms of media in the near future.
I strongly disagree with statement #3. While traditional news organizations may have been “freaking out” at the initial idea of mainstream media moving to the internet, I think big media is making impressive efforts at integrating the two media forms. For instances, newspapers, TV and radio stations, including CNN, ABC and The New York Times have all created their own blogs or have developed contracts with individual bloggers.
It is obvious that our mass media is going through a period of transition and growth. I believe that the future success of media conglomerates is directly dependent on their ability to adapt to future changes and innovations.
How will citizen journalists and bloggers positively or negatively impact democracy as it is traditionally associated with the press?
Since there is no single, agreed-upon code of journalistic ethics, how is individual content monitored? I know that professional organizations and news outlets have their own guidelines, but how will this be translated and implemented in the blogosphere?
jrwc86 said,
April 29, 2008 @ 12:09 pm
Very interesting and engaging approach to the material this week. That being said I think your assessment is spot on. In response to your second question, I think the bloggers will, through their actions, develop a new ethical code to adhere to. If a blogger does something that his or her audience does not like than his or her viewer ship will go down and effectively could be “black balled,” and not get trackbacks, etc. I do think, however, that journalistic ethics codes would make a good starting point for assessing blogs, I don’t think we want to abandon the model completely.