Don't Shoot the Messenger! Give him a Blog instead.

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            In response to my last post, my blog colleagues all touched some factors that affect the validity of “the news.” Becky from Psyched About Music!  Began with a couple of quotes from Alfred Hermida, “(journalists establish) jurisdiction over the ability to objectively parse reality to claim a special kind of authority and status" and that social media subverts this "monopoly on the provision of everyday public knowledge" (2012) (Parenthesis mine).  At first I took issue with this statement thinking it put journalists in an elitist light, but recant.  Journalists do take jurisdiction and from that glean their authority and status, as journalists.  It follows that, regardless of any “Ron Burgundy” image we have in our minds, journalism is a skill and those who are especially good, have made it an art. Therefore, however wonderful it is that social media allow full access to all types of news everywhere, many times it is the “art of journalism” that make this access possible and tangible.  That said I wonder if this “subversion” Hermida speaks of really exists.  Perhaps it is more the “evolution” of journalism he speaks of, instigated by the fluid and participatory nature of the web.  Now more than ever, the journalistic standards are higher because verifiability of so much information is fair game. 

            David from Picture of Interest lamented at the rise of the Gossip column/blog. People are fascinated with celebrities and by celebrity culture, that one needn’t be talented as long at they have the money to spend time with celebrities.  Who ever heard of “celebutante” before Paris Hilton?   Even the term comes from “debutant,” a social institution that is essentially the beginning of a life of a kind of “local celebrity” for wealthy youth.  No matter the veracity, Gossip blogs and publications serve the purpose of reporting on celebrity culture, which is based on illusion. I know it sound convoluted, but then it is.  So when is news just gossip? In this case, the news is in the façade, not the facts.  The information is rarely if ever relevant to the goings on of our everyday lives. Never the less, the public engages.  In my opinion, displays a near tragic state of our social psychology. What would happen if we put that energy into ourselves? Into our own dreams?  This indulgence on speculation can diminish the need for truth in our personal lives.

            Finally, Meg from Animated Films expressed how think the majority feels about social media and professional journalism, that one augments the function if the other.  This I feel is the more balanced perspective.  Journalism, both good and bad existed well before the Internet, and it would likely continue as long as we as human society have stories to tell and information to share.  This is in part why I think blogging has become a new forum for journalism.  It allows one to be authoritative, without the limitations and politics of working within a bureaucracy.  While social media allow many voices to be heard, there is something to be said for choosing the life of the messenger, instead of just a moment.  The discipline of journalism does have place in our new media landscape.  Better still, it has many places.
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References
Alfred Hermida (2012) TWEETS AND TRUTH, Journalism Practice, 6:5-6, 659-668, DOI: 10.1080/17512786.2012.667269