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Dumbing down America - The dark side of citizen journalism




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Is so much citizen journalism a good thing or does it cause more problems than it solves?
Rivethead

17 responses // Dumbing down America - The dark side of citizen journalism

  • I don't know if having the ability to think and speak freely is a "good" or "bad" thing in and of it self. The results of the content (citizen journalism) like any thing is in the perception of the individual. More free flowing ideas in a society can be used either destructively or constructively.
    In my opinion the more the better! More information can lead to a more informed society, one, by allowing more choice, and two, by having some much choice, learning to be discerning, critical and less influence to bias and mass media spin.
    treeboi666
  • This article doesn't say anything about citizen journalism that doesn't already apply to the internet as a whole.
    Mulcahey
  • Citizen journalism is empowering the people to make what they see as relevant news to them and possibly others, available..
    Not everyone thinks the "cat in the tree" story on the 6 o'clock news is relevant to everyday life..
    CJ also allows people to make a more informed decisions on topics. With more points of view available, it allows me to see it from more perspectives than may have been available from the "NETWORKS"

    "THE ONE EYED MAN IS KING IN THE LAND OF THE BLIND"
    1percent
  • As with all things, once you have the power to report it to a wider audience, you also have the responsibility to make sure of the facts.

    That was the whole point of citizen journalism that MSM had left behind, everything they show is an editorial based on management opinions.

    Is it better to replace it with everyone elses opinion, so that all we do is wade through a sea of different opinions?

    If that's all we can do then shouldn't some of those opinions at be based of facts?
    Argon18
  • Well of course people will get information that will cross the line of validity and bias, but you have to realize that network news is also bias and may not be true. This is the day and age of where you have to distinguish and find what you believe is true.
    Greg_Bunker
  • I don’t think there is anything wrong with citizen journalism and I’m guessing because you’re on Current that you don’t either. What’s dumbing down America is our local news outlets. I love how I have to suffer through the morning pet pictures before I can get an accurate weather report.
    Ricky84
  • I dont think i really understand what you mean when you say citizen journalism. I think youre trying to compare the things on you find on here and the things you find on real news corporations mediums. Theres definitely a difference between the two, and I really dont know if you can call what you find on here journalism. This is more like information sharing.
    sagewho
  • contributing articles from other sources is info sharing but making a pod of your own is citizen journalism.

    The former is more common lately but the latter takes more time and is a higher standard.
    Argon18
  • I think if we expect democracy to work for us, we had better be able to communicate with each other, and check each other too. That's why I love this web page and TV channel. I find hope here in us talking to each other. But web pages can be just as evil, and sometimes I wonder if blogging IS doing more harm than good.

    The bottom line is whether or not people can critically think, and filter out the meaningful stuff among the crap. That requires education and a sense of community, I think. I don't honestly know because I don't think I've ever seen it happen in my lifetime, but our history is full of inspiring stories of people figuring out they were getting screwed, banding together largely with the help of the printed word, and standing up for themselves.

    So in the end, I say write, and read, listen and be heard.
    Kati_kat
  • I think the major issue is that some people assume that certain citizen journalists know what they're talking about simply because they're not stooges for some huge company. In reality, many of them are ill-informed, and have their own bias agenda, just like everyone else. But, since we all look for citizen journalists that agree with us in the first place, we assume they know what they're talking about.

    Plus, it doesn't do anything to prevent an elite group of people deciding what stories are relevant; they just have a different perspective to what is relevant than, say, Fox News.

    That's not to say that all citizen journalism is bad. I find wikileaks and things similar to be very useful. Nor do I wish to discourage people from having their voices heard. I just think we should be realistic about citizen contributions, and most citizens, myself included, have a skewed outlook.
    AceHardchester
  • Where would Current be without Citizen Journalism?
    I certainly gain perspective on the known issues and learn a great deal more about the lesser known ones due to "CJ". It's up to me to pursue a story beyond someone's blog and not just accept it at face value if I wish to expand my knowledge.
    huntre
  • At least on the internet 'citizen journalists' are accountable. Someone will post their distortion. I posted a clip of George W. talking to an Isreali Journalist, which had been spliced to change what he had said. phillyharper posted the actual conversation. Much different that the video I had found.

    I promptly posted my humble apology for posting false information. I am an American first, Democrat second. I don't want to see Democrats distorting facts either. Trust, but verify is a good rule to live by. If you find something you have posted to be untrue (distorted) don't hesitate to set the record straight. We are all accountable.
    Conniepae
  • this article is funny to me simply for the fact that the writer decided to put it on current....i think their is a bit of irony there....i find her argument a little weak, like in my local pub after midnight...lots to say but nothing to back it up....but once again maybe she being funny
    cheakywillie
  • "Underneath the shiny veneer of ultimate equality and the idea that people are taking back their own power from megalithic media conglomerates there is a dark side to the citizen journalism movement that could have some very serious effects. Increasingly people are seeing every aspect of culture from politics to foreign policy to everyday occurrences through a tunneled lens that makes them react to things on a personal level instead of seeing larger patterns or applying some critical thought and analysis."

    the observation of larger patterns and the attempted tinkering or manipulation of those patterns by an elite few is exactly the kind of fascist ideology that motivated Hitler, Stalin, Mao the list goes on.

    The personalization of the world, the remote made local, and further emphases on individual instinctual reaction to world events, is the only hope for a freer safer more peaceful future.

    hooray current!
    petervan
  • There is a dumbing down of America, but it's not citizen journalism. It's the corporate owned "mainstream" media. They only report on the "news" that they want you to hear, while ignoring others that may not be so profitable to their bottom line.
    phoenix_fire999
  • I don't think the "dumbing down" of America is a result of our increased access to communication in the Internet Age - but rather a parallel to it.

    I think television and newspapers have been doing a great job of dumbing things down for years now on their own.

    But what has changed with the advent of the Internet is that we now have access to so much more information, from so many sources, so rapidly - that it's impossible sometimes for even well educated people to separate the signal from the noise.

    As always, you can't believe everything you read - now, we just have so much more to read!
    digitrash
  • http://therealnews.com/web/index.php?thisdataswitch=0&t...
    This link is to TheRealNews.com, it has much info on the ideology and rationale why the public has a duty & responsibility to be the filter of truth and justice.

    "Those who would sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither." - Benjamin Franklin

    "There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation." - Herbert Spencer
    Nameste, Peace, Shalom, Love one another...
    treeboi666

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