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Re: Tuesday, March 27, 2007
There is another aspect of the Sierra story that is relevant to citizen journalists. I was at a seminar several years ago(sponsored by Pew if I recall correctly) about Internet and the press. They noted one major trend, which is the level of threats to journalists. All journalists (independent of sex) were experiencing very high levels of personal abuse and threats. The level had risen from that of occasional problems with articles on dangerous subjects to one where many journalists were in a constant state of fear. This cause of this increase was unclear. It was correlated with Internet activity, but there has also be a dramatic increase in the global level of violence against journalists (killings, physical violence, imprisonment). Also, the general level of public discourse has changed from argumentation to persuade (which implies mutual respect, openness to change, willingness to accept evidence rather than proof) to intimidation, ridicule, or bludgeoning the other side into submission. The growth of public journalism also means that the public is entering into this more dangerous domain. The education of potential public journalists should include education regarding the dangers of that participation.
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