Capital Eyes Publishing
(the eyes of capital)
Journalism in the 21st Century by Courtney Kelsey
�We live in faster and faster times. Big news that only 200 years ago took 9 weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean now travels everywhere in the world at the speed of light, and gossip travels faster. Any geek with a cheap computer can log onto the World Wide Web and spread terrifying rumours about Anthrax bombs exploding in Dallas or half the population of San Francisco being killed in three days by a brown fog of Ague Fever that blew in on a vagrant wind from Mongolia� And never doubt for an instant that these things might be true. That is the wonderful perversity of gossip in the 21st Century. Nothing is impossible.� -Dr. Hunter S. Thompson The roots of conventional journalism and it�s relationships to political and economic power structures can be uncovered and analyzed as far back as Guttenberg and the printing press. Historical factors like this are important to any discussion about the state of �conventional journalism� but for the sake of simplicity it will hereafter be used to describe the industry that has developed in step with late capitalism in the last half of the twentieth-century. The �weblog� is a development bringing the future of conventional journalism into question. It creates a democratic model of information distribution that offers discussion from both sides rather than the conventional modes of one way, stylized packaging. Instead, journalists can have their own package - a simple website that would allow them to report whatever, whenever - free from the burden of advertorial pressure and rampant careerism that are beating countless of thoughtful minds into �the New Dumb.� That is the vision anyhow and while it sounds overly optimistic, almost Utopian, it is worthy of serious thought because of the potential it holds for contemporary thinkers to express themselves. To gain a better understanding of where the development of web logs will take us, this essay will examine a small sampling of them. The nature of the technology itself makes it nearly impossible to look at a significant cross-section in the body of a short essay; such would be the effort of a prolonged study with strictly controlled conditions. This essay will draw no more than a few general conclusions based on observations of two separate web sites that meet the following criteria: i) the term web log or any associated phrase is used by the site or a third party to describe it ii) information about the author(s) is provided or at the bare minimum the author�s contact information iii) the site is active and has been updated within the past two weeks iv) the web site focuses on present-day issues that are the result of Western foreign policy and aggression - most obviously the war in Iraq. Analysis based on these criteria will provide adequate information to determine whether web logs pose any threat to conventional journalism. 'Baghdad Burning' is the first web site that will be examined on the basis of the above criteria. The web site was found using a simple Google search for the word �blog� and was chosen for it�s rather ominous title that immediately dictates it�s 'left' leaning bias to the viewer. On the right hand side of the page along with links to various other pertinent information is the author�s email address listed under the pseudo name �Riverbend.� The most recent post is from the fifth of December and discusses the �yelling, screaming, summonsing, ranting and accusing� that marked the start of Saddam Hussein�s trial for war crimes. Glimpsing through the headlines briefly reveals the left-leaning bias further, but the author's analysis is level headed and penetrates beyond mere leftist propaganda and rhetoric. A further penetration into the content of the articles reveals that the author is in fact of Iraqi origin, but no mention of her present residence is mentioned. This is an interesting perspective to have on the issue because the political/economic issues take secondary importance over those of the human concerns and are often presented anecdotally - the author speaks of the fear that must be felt everyday while living in a country where violence is a daily occurrence. Riverbend�s web log is a well presented critique of Western foreign policy written by an individual with no apparent journalistic credentials or background in writing.
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