Blogging and Free Speech

Since I started contributing at the CPB site, I have been struck by the length people would go to stop others from airing their views.  It is very sad indeed that there is even a plan in Iran to pass laws that would sanction the execution of bloggers deemed errant.

TechCrunch today wrote about the dangers of blogging focusing on the WIA report in which 64 blogggers have been arrested so far world wide.  There are more of these cases than one might think and the funny thing is that it is not only, so-called dictatorial governments that arrest or threaten bloggers and website publishers but also individuals and otherwise democratic and free societies like Canada.

Such a sad state of affairs.

New Blogging Gig

I musy say that I am proud to be joining the Committee To Protect Bloggers as a contributor.  The site is one that aim to report and does indeed report on threatened bloggers and threats on bloggers all over the world.

With governments slowly realising the power of the www they are slowly but surely clamping down on freedoms of speech.  This through various means, like blocking access to sites, jailing activists and some even passing laws which all but criminalise blogging.

I thank Curt for taking me on and hope this partnership will be mutually beneficial and will strengthen the cause.

If you have any info on the same feel free to write to me or Curt.

Cheers

Media partnerships

As citizen journalism continues to grow I have been asking myself a question,”Doesn’t it make any business sense to incorporate citizen reporting in traditional media?”  Ethan Zuckerman writes that in 90% of revenues of newspapers polled in a recent study came from their print versions.

 

Newspapers depend on advertising revenue to exist.  So are advertisers going to agree to put their products next to blogger stories which maybe in fact critical to their products?  Not all citizen reportage is adversarial and critical, in deed most of usually is just some reporting a story that he/she feels has been neglected by mainstream media. 

 

One thing which I think is the problem is that corporates are not willing to abandon traditional advertising techniques for new media ones.  Are ad agencies prepared to be buying media from bloggers rather than TV & Radio stations, newspapers and magazines? 

 

It seems that there is still that divide where newspapers themselves do not believe that digital media will survive.  It seems to them that this is a passing fad rather than the revolution that it is.

 

My thoughts on the matter are that newspapers will continue to exist side by side with, digital media i.e. bloggers and the rest.  This is existence that should not be viewed as adversarial, it is a competition, but complementing each other.  If the reporters of traditional media can create relationships where they can source their news from bloggers in addition to their current sources then we have a model that will in turn bring money finance to the news room and reverse the trend of staff cuts currently occurring in almost all media houses.

 

I mean we should see digital media as a partner to conventional media, the synergies that will accrue from this will enable media as an institution to thrive.  When we have a situation where people want a particular scope of news and they are willing to sample what people like them like then we should take heed.  After all, the customer is king!!