Censorship: It’s Effects On Print, Broadcasting, & Online Media

caught in the moment
munching on  //  spicy chicken wings
eargasm  //  the fan
mood  //  stressed

“The Empire Strikes Back” is a fitting title for Gillmor’s chapter on the Internet’s growing domination.  Just like most things that are invented, the Internet was supposed to be a tool to help our world.  In some aspects it has, but as the Internet-age progresses, one can see that it is creating negative issues we are only beginning to deal with.  I wasn’t aware that governements in China & Saudi Arabia were utilizing country-wide firewalls to regulate content.  I was also suprised as the suggestion that users from different countries would see different content, catered to them, if visiting the same website.  The Internet is becoming a huge propaganda machine, just like television.

I remember watching a Tom Cruise movie a few years ago & as he is walking down the street, all the advertisments change to cater to his interests - interests which are collected by a microchip within his body.  Yes, this movie seems a little far-fetched, but with the Internet’s cookies & sneaky ways to gain information about the user, the concept is the same.

Mr. Don Pember, my Mass Media Law professor brought up the topic of censorship & the Internet.  He asked us if a new part of government should be set up to regulate the Internet &/or should new laws be created to deal with libel cases?  I found this to be very thought-provoking.  I believe the it should be regulated to deter spammers & to make sure young children can’t see inapropriate sites, but that should be its extent.  People have a right to see the same content on a website regardless if they are White, Asian, Catholic or Muslim.  If their faith & identidy is really that strong, then their government shouldn’t have to worry about what several words on a page could do.

“Dispatches From Blogistan” addressed the legal issues in blogging.  For the most part, privacy rights & libel are treated the same as print & broadcasting media.  I liked how the text provided links to sites further explain the laws, & how people have created special licenses regarding people’s works.  I also loved that this week’s chapter covered a few items that will be on my Mass Media Law test tomorrow.  It is great to see the overlap in my classes.

Going along with Gillmor’s belief that Big Media isn’t listening, I believe the Big Media is listening, but the slow impact left the media in a melee of ‘what can we do to still make a profit?‘  The one who knows the solution will have hit the jackpot.  People are still trying to figure that out.  It’s trial & error.  RSS feeds & blogs are playing a major part, but expertise in these areas is what Big Media lacks.  That leaves room to the rise of the citizen journalists & of blogs from the Big Media companies.  Times are changing & they are struggling to keep up.

Questions

1) What advantages do smaller Internet sites & blogs have over Big Media companies?

2) We have standards to deal with libel cases in print & we now apply them to the blogisphere, but how effective are these standards in dealing with online media?