Introduction


 * Introduction (by Mrs. Davis)**

PDF of the Slideshow with Notes by Mrs. Davis:


 * Notes (by Chris T):** In the introduction, Dan Gillmor points out and notices things that we can see were right. This book was written back in 2004, six years in the era of technology is an eternity.

-Frozen moments: moments in time that will forever stay with us, where we can look back and remember exactly where we were. FDR's death is an example, where radio and printed text were the main forms of news. Then came the assassination of JFK which was broadcasted in radio and text as before but also through the television. Lastly, September 11th was a monumental moment in our collective history. However 9/11 was different for one major reason: the internet. A large, ever-expanding group of bloggers, citizens journalists, internet journalists, etc. were writing, investigating, exposing the story of 9/11 online.

More recently there were the issues brought up by Rathergate being exposed as incorrect by bloggers. He subsequently resigned; at this point nothing like this had ever happened. The Tsunami in Southeast Asia was also being live updated through medians like wikipedia. The information was live, constantly updated, streaming from those that were most affected by it, those that were actually there. Lastly came the London terrorist bombings; in which one of the main photos of the event was taken by a bystander with a cell phone camera. The image was incredibly low quality but it was significant because it was in-the-moment and truly powerful.

Velocity: A google search of "Podcast" in 2004 would result in 24 hits... By 2010, there would be 44.5 million hits.

Gillmor was live-blogging at a conference where CEO Nachio was speaking. Meanwhile Gillmor was getting information in real-time from a colleague about insider-trading on the part of Nachio. As Gillmor posted this information on his blog, he could see the audience reacting, collectively changing their opinion of Nachio. This was Gillmor's epiphany: He realized how the entire journalist-consumer role was changing drastically.

Journalists and readers have an open conversation which is changing in our modern age. Consumers are often an incredibly value tool, journalists have come to rely on consumers as consumers used to rely on journalists. The conversation is becoming less one-way and becoming a two-way interchange.

Newsmakers: presidents, celebrities, people-of-interest, etc. are beginning to use tools such as twitter to create news as they see fit. By promoting certain stories etc, these important people can have a an amazing effect on news and the consumption of news.

Dangers of journalism: the large organizations (whether governments or massive companies) are obviously incredibly invested in the news. Large companies are often most concerned with the profits and the bottom line, causing them to "squeeze" their journalists, threatening the news as we know it.

"In the end [citizen journalists] may help spark a renaissance of the notion, now threatened, of a truly informed citizenry."

Informed citizens are already stratified, resulting in some citizens that are very well informed, often wealthier, better-educated, younger people. While also resulting in some citizens which are completely unaware of the happenings of the community and the world. One need also consider the abundance of (competing) information available to consumers. Which sources should be trusted? Where should consumers feel comfortable going for their news?