Having discussed about the Internet for the past few weeks, another aspect that we can look into is journalism and how it links to this medium. For a very long time, journalism was associated with the printed press and news media. However, at the turn of the century it has become clear that the traditional way of viewing news is no longer applicable as information relay has become so rapid that I can know about a plane crash halfway across the globe even before some of the members of the country hears or reads about it. Such is the power of the Internet.
Online journalism has definitely become a strong presence in our society. In this day and age, it is very hard to keep much information under wraps because all it takes is a click of a mouse button in order for someone to upload information on the Internet, and once the message is sent, communication is irreversible. It is exciting yet terrifying at the same time, where so much power has shifted into the hands of the public.
One such example that I wish to discuss is the idea of Stomp. To me Stomp was probably started with good intentions of spreading interesting new quickly and also giving the people a channel to relay news that is taking place in everyday life and allowing them to share their views on the particular issue. However, in recent times I feel that the platform is being abused by people, and it also shows the hypocrisy of some people during criticism because they are more concerned with the act of videoing an event and posting it online rather than taking constructive action.Let me cite a few examples.
For example, people have been filmed littering or not offering seats in the public transport in Singapore. However, people hiding behind their camera hand phones and blacklisting these people by putting their faces online for all to see to make an example of them is not exactly the most civic minded thing to do. Things like giving up seats for the disabled or elderly, or a couple's private quarrel are not issues that people should pry into. I feel that with the option of Internet journalism so readily available to the common person on the street, this power is misused. We should take some time to reflect where the line should be drawn, before the situation gets out of hand.
In view of online journalism, I think the use of blogs and social media tools also need to be further analyzed because with misappropriate use it could ruin a person's life if certain information is spread through this powerful medium. Personally, I feel that journalism is one of the grey areas of the Internet, and we would probably need another 10-20 years before we can find a balance in finding what is the most ethical way of utilizing it. Until next time, signing off!
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2 comments:
Personally, I think that STOMP is not a citizen journalist grooming ground. It is a forum board, and like any forum board, some people are hiding behind annoynimity to freely express their opinions without caring about potential consequences because to them they are not responsible for what they say.
To me, a journalist is someone who places his name on the line everytime he writes something. Everyone knows who he is, anyone can call him to account for his actions if he reports something wrongly..
Just my 2 cents worth
I think STOMP is retarded and am appalled that The Straits Times is behind it. It truly feeds the Singaporean culture of 'judge other people and always point the finger away from you'. It allows them to feel better about themselves when they take photos of other citizens in actions of misconduct which totally defeats the purpose of STOMP in the first place. Is the solution to our problems fear? We cannot force people to behave simply because they are afraid that their face will be up on STOMP. What sort of society are we building??
This is citizen journalism at its worst.
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