I realize this is the second post in a row about the role new media has played in reporting current events compared to old media, but I’ve watched a couple of videos (below), pondered the topic more, and feel like this issue is moving from “interesting” to “important”.
At issue is the time lag between a breaking news event happening and how long it takes old media (traditional news outlets or main stream media) to report it. Compare that to how fast user-generated content and social media networks report these events. Normally I just find it interesting because I think, “of course locals with wireless technology can report events in real time faster than main stream media”. There’s no verification process that the main stream media takes. This is a much needed and good process. That’s interesting, it’s not that important.
But I think now, in some cases, it’s becoming important. Here are three situations in chronological order where I’m seeing the movement.
First is a video of my friend Erik Hersman speaking at a TED conference:
Erik Hersman presents the remarkable story of Ushahidi, a GoogleMap mashup that allowed Kenyans to report and track violence via cell phone texts following the 2008 elections, and has evolved to continue saving lives in other countries.
YouTube: Erik Hersman: How texting helped Kenyans survive crisis
Did you catch what they are working on right now? The ability to shrink the gap between when a crisis event begins to be reported and when it is verifiable. That’s not just interesting, it’s important.
Next is a longer video by Clay Shirky, also presenting at a TED conference but this was weeks ago.
Clay Shirky shows how Facebook, Twitter and TXTs help citizens in repressive regimes to report on real news, bypassing censors (however briefly). The end of top-down control of news is changing the nature of politics.
YouTube – Clay Shirky: How cellphones, Twitter, Facebook can make history
There’s plenty of take-aways, but did you see how new media forced the hand of the Chinese Government during the earthquake? That’s not just interesting, it’s important.
A few days ago I quoted excerpts from a recent conference regarding CNN vs. Twitter in the first few days of the protest riots in Iran. Ann Curry from NBC’s Today show really impressed me:
I learned about the last missile test in North Korea on Twitter. I turned on the TV and no one was reporting the story. I thought to myself, ‘this sucks.’ So, I jumped on Twitter and reported the facts as I found them in real time…I had to be careful however. I was receiving reactions and questions. The trick is communicating solid information without misleading anyone. One word can change how people interpret anything. I feel a great obligation to never twitter something that is wrong…once you lose [credibility], you’ve lost.
I’ve been watching how Ann Curry has been handling Twitter breaking news and rumors out of Iran during the protests. Watching someone with main stream media training balance new media reporting has been an encouragement.
That’s not just interesting, it’s important.
We’re moving into a time where news moves fast and reports move faster. Looking at these three examples I think shows us, however, that we’re closing the gap between an important event happening and it’s verified reporting.
If you’re interested in following any of these three on Twitter, they are @whiteafrican, @cshirky, and @anncurry respectively.
