So, gang, what do you think of an observation from InfoWorld columnist Ephraim Schwartz? “Citizen journalism is a form of fascism waiting to happen.”
Between the lines: Could Schwartz really be raging not so much against citizen journalism but against the tech changes that have tormented many a professional journalist and killed off IW’s paper incarnation?
To address his question: As I see it, the real issue is, What is citizen journalism? Furthermore, Schwartz himself concedes that fascism thrives on centralization, which CJ is not. Oh, and beyond that, it can involve the merging of big government and certain big-business interests. Busybody citizen journalists are one way to help thwart power-grabbers in $5,000 suits or even the grassroots demagogues about whom he worries.
That said, big media also has a role to play, given the investigative resources that it can summon up. In short, the answer is balance.
Hum,
I think ‘citizen journalism’ could lead to piling on. Who would have given a hearing to an idiot like Drudge if it weren’t for citizen-journalism? And the mobbing-on of the Dixie Chicks after their remarks on the idiocy of our going to war was led by citizen-journalists. On the other hand, the ‘real’ facism of the 20th Century wasn’t stopped by conventional journalism–in fact, a reasonable part of conventional journalism was co-opted. In much the same way, a huge part of American journalism was co-opted by the War party during the lead-in to the Iraq invasion.
Bottom line, I think facism, group-think, whatever you want to call it, is best fought by everyone. No magic bullet exists.
Rob Preece
Publisher, http://www.BooksForABuck.com