Chapter 9: "New Media: Continuing Questions and New Roles"

April 3rd, 2014
The topic of this chapter comes at the forefront of the technological age that we are in; it demonstrates that in a constantly evolving era, there are many new or unanswered, undeveloped questions and roles.  However, this doesn't just occur with new media: In my opinion, continuing questions and new roles have been around for centuries as society continues to develop, grow, and transform. And I firmly believe that this will always be the case. In essence, this time of questioning and new roles never ends. I like how the chapter discussed how journalists often times step out of their institutional roles through the Internet, and how there is now such a thing as "citizen journalists". That new concept has proven to be incredibly dynamic, for in instances such as the 2011 Arab Spring, Internet "gives individuals the power to organize as never before." In this case, utilitarianism has proven to be the principle that guides such acts of congregation and demonstration. Utilitarianism is often used as justification in the fight for human rights (i.e. Arab Spring) and although many may not realize it, they are influenced by such a principle when they use the internet. With the internet, everything is so focused on the outcome. "What will be the response?"; "How many people will 'like' this photo or video?"; "Will this change my life?"; "Will this change the lives of others?" It is not so focused on the actor (Aristotle) or the action (Kant) it is the ending that matters (Mill) And in a fast-paced society, the ending is key. One of the "new roles" discussed in this chapter is that of the journalist. No longer is the journalist responsible for simply presenting the news to the people through the newspaper, but they are in a constant race to continually verify their information and ethically place it in context that makes others look at things in an entirely new light. Furthermore, they must balance this in the environment of the Internet where speed is crucial and the press of a button can be a game-changer. They also must debate whether to "burn sources" or remain quiet and compromise information. And there's the whole ballgame of originality. The boundaries are gray, but news organizations must continue to define what is ethically okay and what is not. The world of journalism is changing at lightning fast speeds and this chapter does an excellent job of explaining the complexity of such a situation. I enjoyed the chapter, although I felt it was hard to follow at times, but I think it is a good indicator of the benefits and issues of the Internet, the changing roles of news organizations and journalists, and the roles and responsibilities of citizens who are participating in the media world more and more.