So, its starting to look like news as we know it will soon be a thing of the past. It's evolving, adapting to new technology and giving you hundreds more ways to interact with what used to just be a few newspaper pages dumped on your driveway in the morning. Cool, ay?
Well, it would be, except for tiny things like censorship, discrimination and just a few minor laws that protect your rights and keep news outlets in check. Seems like we have begun to use outlets such as Twitter, Facebook and phone apps to keep up to date with news, but the laws which make traditional news outlets the reasonably trusted sources they are today haven't quite been able to keep up.
Just this week, Twitter experienced a 'security exploit', Facebook saw fit to cripple several high profile protest pages and T-Mobile were sued for blocking a mobile service allowing users to locate the nearest medical marijuana dispensary because they 'did not approve.'
The fact is, if these media outlets are going to act as our new trusted news sources, they should be subject to the same rights, responsibilities and laws that traditional news outlets have to deal with. Admittedly, some old school news agencies have flirted with the boundaries of the law before, but at the end of the day, the laws are there, the enforcement bodies are there, and you can't plant a virus in National Geographic.
When it comes to censorship and new media, Apple take the cake and as Steve Jobs is now the 'New King of Technology' its clear that if we don't get some new media laws up and running soon, notions of media as a watchdog, or the trusted fourth estate may pass us by.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
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Really interesting post, Rachael. But I have to disagree, personally. I don't think the shortcomings of new media news sources justify a push to lock them down with more "new media laws". Sure, it's a chaotic environment - a mix of socially-minded gift economy, anarchy, conspiracy and corporate greed. But, as a complement to the 'established' professional news media (not a substitute), and in all its imperfect but fascinating diversity, I think it serves a valuable function and I'm all for resisting the temptation to rush to regulate it.
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