Last wednesday I had a final oral exam, and the main topic was citizen journalism and user generated content. You can find the pdf with some thoughts on citizen journalism here. It’s in german, sorry English speakers.
Did I mention, it was my last exam and I finish studying journalism? 
|
|
1 comment
Diesmal zu spät, aber besser als gar nicht angekündigt. Heute um 12 Uhr an der Universität Dortmund in der Veranstaltung “Junior Research Lunch” der Amerikanistin Eriko Ogihara ein Vortrag über Thema und Methode von mir. EF50, Raum 3.208a. Hier die Folien.
|
|
No comments
On the 23 Chaos Communication Conference (23c3) in Berlin I held a presentation on quality and media activism/ citizen journalism in the workshop room on Haecksen Day. You can find the pdf here.
Before I was able to finish the first part of the presentation on the content quality in journalism and the different academic discussions about how to define quality, people started discussing about what is quality and how they would define quality or what definition they would follow. This was very good to see - and it was an interesting discussion. The positions ranged between market-steered indicators for defining quality of content and a broader understanding of media content into empowering people to participate in media and defining their own view on the content.
I then talked about media activism and citizen journalism and the broader possibilities for people to participate in and contribute to the media - made possible and used more widely whith the emerging new technology of the internet. I see this as a challenge for the media system, which they adress by trying to bind content aggregators like bloggers to their brands.
In the end I opened a discussion what blog entries (and on a broader perspective: the blogosphere) can be useful for by presenting a few forechosen blog entries about an internet start-up, whose security problems have been discussed a lot in the blogosphere recently: StudiVZ. You can find those articles in my del.icio.us-bookmarks, or less beautifully structured on this page.
This discussion also was very fruitful and it made me think a lot afterwards. Maybe I’ll jot down some of the discussion later.
As I planned to do a writing course after my presentation in the first place, and changed my plan later, I decided to label the workshop “women only”. It was the first congress I attended and I was quite unsure which people I would meet there, and thought this would make it easier for women to learn from each other, as this whole hacker and media activism thing seemed to me being quite gender biased. It turned out there were some men interested. So if you want to know some more about my work, don’t hesitate to contact me via email oder jabber. You are welcome to comment as well.
Let me point you to these blogging entries about the gender thing on the congress:
Annalee Newitz talk, notes by scrupeda.
Interview with Annalee N. by sammelsurium.
And the discussion in german “Mädchenblog”, here and there.
|
|
No comments
“Qualitätspudding”, funny term found on page 5. Means something like “jelly of quality”, and is used here to describe somewhat easy and surface-scratching trials to define quality in journalism and media.
I like the word so much, that I let it lead and help me in this weekends workload on quality.
|
|
No comments
Now, this has been a bad summer. Maybe you know these "incidences" which all happen at once, while you have to write your final thesis for finishing studies and finally getting your degree. At least, some of my colleagues said, that this is typical for this time in the life of people.
However, I am up and working again. Stretch out and wait, there will be some blogging about my work as well. At least I hope so.
|
|
No comments
Different case studies and analysis dealing with NGOs, Third World and development topics as well as civil society, peace movement and environment activism.
While criticism of media is broadly done among activists, analyzing and finding strategies to cope with nowadays media structures and practice is seldom. Although it should be done more often, activists often focus on their main goals, whatever they wish to achieve. And then they wonder, if the agenda setting is already done by others, and they are mostly overseen or talked about in an unfriendly till hostile manner. Of course, no leftist strategy using established media or building own media can change the world by itself or even use the media system in a way, that does not fit capitalist society. But there are some niches and tey ought to be surveyed and used. “Prime time activism” is a big step towards this goal.
|
|
No comments
Yesterday was womens day, and: Blog against sexism day. According to this blogs mission, here is a search in scholar.google.com, Googles new search engine for academic literature, a search for the terms "gender media". Check out and read:
gender&media@scholar.google.com
|
|
No comments
This book is a bibliography and adress collection of several independent media groups and networks in the USA. The “Project Censored” seems to be run by student (and other) volunteers for finding out about important news, that didn’t make thier way into the media, it obviously exists for 28 years now. Its german follower seems to be the “Initiative Nachrichtenaufklärung”, projected at the University of Dortmund.
|
|
No comments
Chris Atton is recently working at the School of Communication Arts in Edinborough, Scotland, UK. He is working on Alternative Media, the Internet and Media Criticism.
Sage Publications, OurMedia,
The last big collected edition of Atton is about the Internet in all its niches for alternative publication. It also steps in to the “far (political) right” and their acting and use of the internet, as well as the aspects of peer to peer-behaviour in sharing of contents. But it also is about radical online journalism (and here the Indymedia Network), the internet usage by alternative radio stations and fan culture/fan zines and the internet.
To be described soon.
|
|
No comments
media criticism and new alternative media - a collection of hints
