New Communication Technology Essay

Restructured Question: Discuss the rise of Citizen journalism as a result of new mobile communication devices and digital technologies. Consider the advantages and disadvantages the citizen journalist brings to society and the issue of ethics and integrity.

(I have restructured the question in order for it to benefit me individually in relation to my course and major of journalism)

The rise of citizen journalism is wholly a product of technological advancement. As digital and mobile technologies continue to become everyday necessities in both the Western and Eastern worlds, society have the ability to freedom of speech and opinion on a scale that rivals that of mainstream media. Participatory journalism challenges conventional media, as the audience reclaims control of information.

Over the past 10 years, it can be noticed that societal adoption of citizen journalism has expanded in reaction to significant, global events, such as that of 9/11 in 2001, the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004, and the London bombing of 2005. These events inspired those who were involved and affected to tell their story. Citizen participation in the acquiring, conveying and sharing of information is mostly considered a notion of positivity, one that in a relationship with professional journalism will offer society a democratic alliance only dreamed of. However, citizen journalism presents the ethical issue of integrity and the inability to control false information otherwise governed my media outlets.

Advancements in digital and mobile technologies of the 21^st century have enabled global communication issued by the former consumer and audience of a world once informed predominately by mainstream media. Advances such as the Internet, mobile communication, digital media and social software have impelled interactive global communication (Castell, 2007 in Allan, 2007). Manuel Castell (2007) believes society is creating a new medium, one that is “self generated in content, self-directed in emission, and self-selected in reception”. Electronic mobile communication infrastructure is enabling mass self-communication without the need of a mainstream media outlet (Outing, 2005 in Robinson & Robinson, 2007).

Citizen journalism first made it into our lives during the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in 2001 as New Yorkers and tourists took to the streets with digital cameras in hand. However, it is the Indonesian Earthquake and Tsunami of Boxing Day 2004, which emphasised the adoption of participatory journalism. The proverbial man in the street gathered news and footage via portable electronic equipment (Srinivas 2005 in Robinson & Robinson, 2007). Adding to the limited access of effected areas for news crew and professional journalists, the Boxing Day tragedy occurred during the western worlds slow news week of skeleton crews over the New Year period, creating a greater reliance on citizen journalism (Outing, 2005 in Robinson & Robinson, 2007). News coverage was becoming a partnership, collaboration, less like a lecture and more of a conversation (Gillmor, 2006).

The London Bombings of 2005 intensified mainstream medias encouragement of citizen journalism. After only 6 hours, The BBC was overloaded with citizen content, and cast a video edited entirely from that imagery for the evening news (Sambrook, 2010). Richard Sambrook (2010) states, “We witnessed a fundamental realignment of the relationship between broadcaster and the public” or as Haddow and Haddow (2009) suggest, ”the online environment changed the media mix, from government to media to public [it] reversed course”.

Participatory journalism grows in the Eastern world as well. South Korea encouraged citizen journalism as an everyday news source with the creation of OhMyNews.com in 2000 (Young, 2009, p. 143). Ohmynews.com challenged the hegemony of mainstream press and has “converted the passive freedom of the right to know to the active freedom of the right to express”(Young, 2009, pp.143-47). Citizen journalism in the Eastern World offers a sense of recognition and change. For the majority of the Indian, Palestine and Arab community, blogger, Jessica Deere, explains that the role of the citizen journalist is different to that of the traditional as they are often the “instigators of change” in regards to recognition and inequality (Cited in Sonwalkar, 2009, pp. 75-91). Different societies are increasingly becoming connected via digital networks.

It seems, that providing one has an Internet connection and a story to tell, someone will listen. Tim Poster, blogger of First Draft, states, “in a world of digital and reflexive communication, we are all reporters” (cited in Haddow & Haddow, 2009, p. 37). However it is the integrity and truth within citizen-generated content that provides reason for concern. David Berry, author of Journalism, Ethics and Society, questions the citizen journalism rationale, “if just anybody can be a journalist does it not deprive it of its elements that constitute it as a social practice, such as objectivity, truth, and ethical responsibilities” (2008, p. 42). Citizen journalism is based on both self-interest and vanity, whereas professional journalists have the “rationality that is fundamentally based on critical self-reflection” and are educated as to their function and responsibilities to society (Berry, 2008, p.42). Dan Gillmor (2006), believes that professional journalism can cooperate with citizen journalists, thus creating an “ecosystem of both”, in which Gillmor calls, ‘News Activism’. The journalist, regardless of his professional position, should abide by the principles of journalism, accuracy, ethics, public trust and thoroughness (Gillmor, 2006).

There is unfortunately, no official code that administers the blogosphere. In addition to this, websites that invite comments and participatory journalism have little ability to control or edit the information that is placed onto their site. Steve Safran, the director of digital media at NECN, believes journalism requires a support structure, and is about “editing, questioning and challenging assumptions”. Companies that tend to lack the desire to oversee citizen content are protected by the Telecommunication Act of 1996, which states that no ISP can monitor all communication that passes through their site and thus can’t be held liable for incorrect or offensive content (Safran, 2005). Safran (2005) adds, that if a news desk can’t monitor or edit their material, their message ought to be, “we can’t decide what news is anymore- why don’t you do it?” A News editor at The Times Online, Mark Sellman, recalls during the London Bombings of 2005, many false civilian tales. One such story involved the shooting of a suicide bomber at Canary Wharf, which after investigation was in fact false. Sellman states, “To create an open stream that’s not edited is not to offer readers what were here for” (Cited in Allan, 2007, p3). On CNN’s dedicated citizen journalist website, iReport, it was circulated that Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, died of a heart attack. Before Apple could release a statement for the stories fictional status, Apple share price dropped 9% (Argenti & Barnes, 2009 p. 163).

We are indeed in a unique time in history. Journalists are finding their domination as gatekeeper is threatened not only by new technology and competition, but also by their audience (Haddow & Haddow, 2009, p.37). Citizen journalism, despite its questioning ethical and factual qualities, seems to require a relationship with traditional journalism, involving the standard scrutiny and editing process in order for the ‘conversation’ between audience and mainstream media to flow. Without this process and relationship between mass media and citizen, we could very well be destroying the integrity of Journalism.

WORDS 1054

Reference List

Robinson, D. Robinson, W. 2007, ‘Tsunami Mobilizations: Considering the Role of Mobile and Digital Communication Devices, Citizen Journalism, and the Mass Media,’ The Cell Phone Reader: Essays in Social Transformation, ed. Kavoori, A. Arceneaux, N. Peter Lang Publishing, New York Pp. 85-88

Sambrook, R. 2005 ‘Citizen Journalism and the BBC’, Nieman Reports: Citizen Journalism’ Winter 2005, Harvard College

Safran, S. 2005 ‘How Participartory Journalism Works’ Nieman Reports: Citizen Journalism’ Winter 2005, Harvard College

Young, C.W 2009 ‘Ohmynews: Citizen Journalism in South Korea’ Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives, ed. Allan, S. Thorsen, E.

Peter Land Publishing, New York pp.143-47

Sonwalkar, P 2009 ‘Citizen Journalism in India: The Politics of Recognition’ Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives, ed. Allan, S. Thorsen, E. Peter Land Publishing, New York pp. 75-91

Gillmor, D 2006 We The Media, O’Reilly Media, California p. xviii

Berry, D 2008 Journalism, Ethics and Society, Ashgate Publishing Limited, England pp.42-43

Rich, C 2010, Writing and reporting News: A Coaching Method, Wadsworth Cengage Learning, Boston MA pp.26-28

Course Evaluation

This course has been insightful and challenging. I have really enjoyed the way I have been provoked to think more about things I use everyday. I really had fun with the culture jamming and found it incredibly interesting when researching its presence in society. I also really liked learning about cyberpunk even though the topic seemed quite gloomy and dark, it was interesting to be introduced to a genre I had little idea about.

This course had some really good potential, however at times i do believe lack of organisation let it down. The tutorials and lectures it seem, require more organisation and advanced planning. I often found myself waiting around while the tutor found out their instructions. I also waited many times for lectures to start late, only to be then talked to by a nervous lecturer that would talk off on tangents, seemingly irrelative to our module of study.

The Course content was normally very interesting and relative to my studies, however, a bit more organisation and planning would have greatly affected my perception of the course. Overall I was satisfied with the tutorial activities, and found that by not attending the lecture most times, I was able to better understand the content from L@G.

Thankyou

Week 9 - Tutorial Activity

The essay topic i have chosen is the effects of citizen journalism, its advantages and disadvantages and the increase due to mobile phone technology. This topic is very relevant to me as i am completing a Bach of Communication majoring in Journalism. Without researching i can already begin to assume some of the positive and negative effects citizen journalism has on mass media and in turn society.

Firstly, i would assume that the positive aspects is the ability to view true images from those involved in the extraordinary event or close by when it occurred. News crews often take sometime to get to events or situations to report and get footage. In addition, a first account from an everyday citizen is worth more in reliability and emotion, than anything a news reporter could conjure.

However, the negative effects of Citizen journalism would have to be the question of whether the information, images or video is actually the real deal, with so many available ways to alter and convert content, citizen journalism requires critical research into its reliability. furthermore, the internet provides anyone with the ability to distribute their story firsthand without the filter process resulting in misleading information flooding mass media.

There are many pro's and con's and i think this topic will enlighten me and create a more through vision of journalism in the 21st century as a result of mobile communications.

Week 9 - lecture response

William Gibson is ridiculously amazing and crazy at the same time. His accomplishments as a writer in genre he literally created himself is very cool. While I'm still finding it hard to grasp the cyberpunk concept and would prefer not to dwell in possible computer vs human conflict of the future, i still appreciate the genre. It is quite cool that william Gibson predicted such things like the rise of reality television and that he established the concept in which gave rise to video game and internet growth .

William Gibson's short novel ' burning chrome' was not my style of literature however i did enjoy the images william drew and his ability to make that world so real, and frighteningly enough so possible. a significant moment moment for me while reading the short novel was realising that william coined the phrase 'cyberspace' in this story... in 1982!!! While the wording was a bit technical i still manage to comprehend the story and enjoy it for the masterpiece it was.

Week 8 - Tutorial

CyberPunk

The 1995 movie "Hackers" deals with the theme of Ubiquitous Access to Information. A Number of teens compete in hacking systems until, they hack a system thats get them in trouble with the government.

Keystroke battles: Are young hackers the future of warfare?

By CHARLIE REED

Stars and Stripes

Published: August 20, 2010

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Self-taught hackers like 18-year-old Michael Coppola are positioned to become the most sought-after recruits in the U.S. military since the activation of U.S. Cyber Command in May.

Coppola caught the eye of military officials last year during Netwars, one of several national cyber challenges — some funded by the Defense Department — aimed at finding and nurturing young cyber security talent needed across the public and private sectors.

Rather than earning points, he broke into the scoring system through Twitter and helped himself, exploiting a flaw Netwars’ creators had missed.

“I sort of circumvented the entire competition,” said the Connecticut teen, who was then asked to quit playing and instead help run the game. “They said, ‘You’ve made your point; now give everyone else a chance.’ ”

Coppola’s digital checkmate demonstrated a combination of creativity and technical sophistication that is the hallmark of a gifted hacker.

Young peoples ability today, was explored in “Hackers”, a 1995 film, which depicts youth positioning in a cyber-orientated world. The young adults in the movie compete with each other by hacking into different systems until such time they hack into a government agency. The teenager characters simply ‘hack’ for the fun of it without bad intentions. It seems in today’s society young adults with these abilities are being put to good use.

As CYBERCOM assumes authority of the digital battlefront, the military is embracing the hacker community in its pursuit of people to help secure the DOD’s 15,000 networks and potentially exploit weaknesses in outside networks.

A hacker is a term synonymous with criminals and those with bad intentions; however, today the term refers to the hackers with good intentions and the same abilities. The hackers who have in the past been involved in illegal activities will not pass clearance for military service, but rather be redirected to contractors within unclassified fields.

Once synonymous with criminals and anarchists, the term hacker now also refers to the good guys in cyberspace, those who have the same skills the bad guys do, only different intentions.

Hackers who have engaged in illegal activities would be unable to qualify for the security clearances required for military service, or even government employment, said Col. Sebastian Convertino, commander of the 318th Information Operations Group at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, which develops hardware and software for CYBERCOM.

“But we don’t just write them off,” he said. “We direct them toward contractors or other places where they can work in unclassified fields.”

But how can we be sure these hackers who have unlawful intentions won’t make it into government employment. With computer tech students with such tremendous ability in short supply, a ‘bad hacker’ may indeed ‘hack’ their way into governmental employment.

But with hackers and other cyber security experts in short supply, some senior officials contend that the military must fundamentally change its structured buttoned-down culture in order to attract them.

“One of our greatest challenges will be successfully recruiting, training and retaining our cyber cadre to ensure that we can sustain our ability to operate effectively in cyberspace for the long term,” CYBERCOM commander Gen. Keith Alexander said in a June speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Alexander also heads the National Security Agency, which shares a campus with CYBERCOM at Fort Meade, Md.

Short supply

The center, a Washington think tank, released a report in July detailing the manpower shortage and contending it is among the weakest points of the U.S. cybersecurity strategy. The report included an oft-cited statistic attributed to Jim Gosler, founding director of the CIA’s Clandestine Information Technology Office and an NSA visiting scientist.

“There are about 1,000 security people in the U.S. who have the specialized security skills to operate effectively in cyberspace,” Gosler said in 2008. “We need 10,000 to 30,000.”

Computer threats against the United States are growing in frequency and sophistication, as is an awareness of the potentially crippling effect a successful attack could have on such a technology-dependent society.

While Defense Department systems are probed by unauthorized users some 6 million times a day, Alexander said, the targets of cyber attacks vary as much as the sources behind them — from foreign governments fishing for state secrets to criminal rings targeting corporations for financial gain to terrorist organizations looking to wreak havoc by attacking critical infrastructure such as the power grid.

So between other government agencies, public and private regulatory bodies and corporate America, which is as vehemently concerned with protecting trade secrets as the Pentagon is with safeguarding national security, the military faces stiff competition for cybersecurity talent.

“Red teaming” skills — detecting network vulnerabilities by simulating what the “bad guys” would do — are particularly rare and coveted by employers, explained Jim Lewis, co-author of the CSIS report and director of the think tank’s Technology and Public Policy Program.

That kind of expertise — displayed by Coppola in Netwars — also is needed by the military for offensive cyberoperations, Lewis said.

An additional issue of military recruitment of hackers is the possibility that these kids will get bored, as the governmental tasks may prove uninteresting in due time, and then the question lies as to what will these young hackers embark on to fulfill their interest? Such is the problem with Copula, who believes a military position comes with a loss of freedom and won’t foster a creative environment.

Coppola rebuffed overtures from recruiters, citing the loss of personal freedom that comes with serving in the military and his impression that the military command structure would not foster the creative environment he desires.

“I want to work as a private citizen,” said Coppola, who starts college this fall at Northeastern University in Boston.

His dream job, he said, would be working at Google, a high-profile company known for nurturing imagination in a relaxed work environment.

Culture

Coppola’s attitude is not uncommon among hackers, whose mindset generally runs counter to that of the military doctrine, said Lt. Col. Gregory Conti, director of a cybersecurity research center at West Point.

Building an effective cyber force with these types of individuals requires fundamental changes to the military culture, Conti said.

Leaders must recognize and embrace the value of technological expertise not only on the frontlines of cyberspace but also on the physical battlefield, Conti said.

“The good news is that the culture is still malleable,” he said.

But if the tech-savvy soldier is not embraced by his combat-hardened brethren, there is a risk CYBERCOM will be marginalized instead of growing into an elite corps of hacker warriors, Conti said.

“Ultimately you want to create an environment that’s so cool, so bad ass, they don’t want to leave,” Conti said. “We can do that.”

The military will never be able to compete with the higher salaries offered in the private sector, but it could adopt practices, such as Google’s policy allowing workers to spend 20 percent of their time solving problems of their own choosing, Conti said.

But what of this time allocated to personal use permit? With the available technological resources of the military for their personal endeavors, it’s possible their personal free time could be detrimental to our country. Imagine a government announcement that the confidential military files have been hacked internally. Especially when the recruited hackers are found and considered by past mischievous encounters as Convertino explains.

A second lieutenant in the Army stationed at Fort Meade, for example, would make roughly $52,000 including subsidies for housing and food, but as a civilian could earn between $70,000 and $80,000 as a cyber security specialist with advanced skills, according to the SANS Institute, a nonprofit cyber security training and research outfit in Bethesda, Md.

But Convertino, the Lackland commander, contends finding hackers to join the military is “actually not that hard.” He disagrees with the assertion that the military ethos contradicts the creative problem-solving skills honed by hackers.

“Wars in particular are the mother of invention,” said Convertino, who parlayed his own hacking skill into a military career. “Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have always been innovative.”

In 1983, during his senior year of high school, Convertino landed in the principal’s office for a class project that essentially allowed him to eavesdrop on the school’s phones. He said that as he waited for his licks, a military recruiter on campus that day told him that what school officials considered trouble, the military considered valuable.

“At a company, you’re working to make money. But (in the military) we say that we serve a higher purpose, which has a certain charismatic appeal,” he said. “There also an excitement that comes with counterterrorism operations and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said. But just what kind of Cyber-Warriors will be recruited if nuisance is a winning criteria?

Convertino and Conti, however, do agree that the services must adjust their personnel systems to reflect career paths so cyberwarriors can be assured challenging assignments and promotion opportunities, as well as consider bonuses commonly used to attract and retain troops with special skills that are in demand.

The Air Force unveiled such a system in May. Convertino helped develop the Air Force’s new “cyber operator” career field.

Before that, airmen from the intelligence and communications field filled the cyber ranks but risked hurting their careers when they would forgo promotions to stay in the field, he said.

Week 8 - Lecture Response

This whole cyberpunk idea is freaking me out a little. While to begin with this concept seems completely make-believe, science fiction and the type of thing a C grade movie thrives off. Yet when i start to actually think about technology and its presence today, and hear recently that we have almost doubled the amount of internet users in Australia since last December, i realise these crazy concepts of technology taking over and the human race living in some sort of poverty stricken or desert of wires, is not all that impossible. The possible combination of a low life and high tech world completely scares me and i believe most people, once they understood just how rapidly tech-growth is occurring, they would freak too.

However for the time being i still control my mac, and my iphone and television still require the use of my finger pushing a button. The Cyberpunk is something to think about and be concerned with but until such time it becomes reality, i'll just enjoy the low-budget movies and novels. :)

Week 7 - Tutorial Activity

Q1. What is creative commons and how could this licensing framework be relevant to your own experience at university?It is an Organisation that provides Media, video, music and image content that is free to use and without licensing restrictions. It would be very useful at uni when i require this type of content for assessment and don't want to be concerned that my work maybe pulled done for licensing reasons.

Q2. find 3 examples from Creative Commons.

Q.3. Find an academic article which discusses creative commons using a database or online journal. Provide a link and a summary of the article.

Pitfalls of open licensing: An analysis of creative commons licensing.

Zachary Katz.

- This article studies the negative implications that Creative commons will have on our cultural environment and the ways it will change the production and distribution of future creative works.

http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/idea46&div=22&g_sent=1&collection=journals

Q4. Have a look at Portable Apps (a pc based application) – provide a brief description of what it is and how you think this is useful

A portable app is portable software one would carry around on a USB or ipod etc. When the portable device is plugged into a computer, the software and files can then be accessed and do not leave traces of files behind when the portable device is ejected.

This would be really easy as it would allow access to all your calendars, email, internet bookmarks, media and documents without the hassle of carrying around a laptop. This is fantastic for university students or business people etc.

Danica