JN 229 Entry #2: Journalism, Citizenship, and Digital Culture

    In the Mark Deuze article, Journalism, Citizenship, and Digital Culture, Deuze explains the new media ecosystem that has been developing over the past few years. He explains that "media have come to be integrated into every aspect of peoples' daily lives, particularly facilitated by the worldwide proliferation of the Internet and similar services that connect subscribers to a global, always=on, digital information and communication network" (Deuze 18). When one thinks of his/her daily life, it is evident that media have a considerate impact on what we do. Citizens are becoming increasingly independent in terms of news gathering.

    Deuze states, "This world is what authors such as Marc Schuilenburg and Alex de Jong (2006), and Roger Silverstone(2007) consider as a 'mediapolis': a mediated public space where media culture underpins and overarches the experiences of everyday life" (Deuze 18). It is true that media culture has taken over daily life. People can no longer go about their daily lives without some form of media interaction. People are engrossed with informing others about what is going on, not only in their life, but in the world in general.

    To explain this new media ecosystem, Deuze states, "What is expected of us in such a society is to acquire the skills and resources necessary to navigate complex and interactive social and technological networks" (Deuze 23). People are starting to inform themselves and others on world issues, therefore there must be a way for them to do this properly. The lines between amateurs and professionals, producers and consumers, are continually being blurred, creating a "convergence culture" (Deuze 24). The future of news systems will include increasingly blurred lines and become "based, at least in part, on an interactive and connective mode of production where media makers and users will co-exist, collaborate, and thus effectively compete to play a part in the mutual construction of reality" (Deuze 24).

JN 229 Entry #1: The Evolution of “New Media”

    After reading "From Tom Paine to Blogs and Beyond", it is evident that personal journalism is no new concept. However, the ways in which we can partake in personal journalism have advanced greatly. In the 20^th century, journalist I.F. Stone put out weekly newsletters with personal opinions and articles. This is not unlike new media such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter.

    Like in the past, when radio became more popular than newspapers and then television over radio, these new forms of emerging media are becoming more prevalent than traditional forms of journalism. With the invention of the "World Wide Web", a new scene was set for the rise of a new kind of news. According to Dan Gillmor, author of "We the Media", "we have to ponder a world where many kinds of devices connect relatively seamlessly..."(Gillmor 42). These new forms of media all connect to one another and we must realise that no one form stands alone. The spreading of any item of news no longer needs the aid of the mass media. That is to say, professional journalists aren't the only ones relaying information to the masses.

    Gillmor states that "the people who'll understand this [new emerging media] best are probably just being born" (Gillmor 43). In saying this, Gillmor is explaining that as new media emerges, the past generations will have a harder time 'catching-up' to it. The people who are going to understand this media and the concepts of personal journalism the best are the people who will have been born into it. They will grow up with this media and it will be all that they know. The media that we consider to be new today is creating a unique community that will continue to grow as time passes.