Look at our own navel

We are asking mass media to react quickly to technological innovations. We are asking traditional media to change the way things had been done and to include their former audience as a key component of the editorial process. We follow with passion the news industry’s innovations and failures, looking for particular cases of study that could shed light on the new digital environment.

However, in the middle of this turmoil, we are probably not taking the time to reflect upon our own craft as scholars. I agree with Gauntlett when he claims media researchers are in need to find innovative tools and theories in order to better explain the media reality brought upon us by the Web.

Journalism Schools in particular must carefully evaluate their role in two main areas: Curriculum and research. Are J-Schools contributing to create new professionals who can take advantage of the new media landscape and work in the digital world? Are they preserving fundamental elements of journalism when implementing changes? Are they teaching students how to use users’ input? Most importantly, are they implementing new technologies to do advanced research and to reach/engage students outside their campus physical space?

Technological trends such as MOCCs are creating universities in the virtual space that soon might start to erode old institutions.


P.D. I am reading the most recent book of Robert W. Gehl, “Reverse Engineering Social Media,” and I found these interesting quotes that I would like to share with you:

"Social media are the corporate response to the mass creativity, collaboration, and desires of networked peoples. It is a tacit admission by large media companies: when given a choice, people prefer content produced and recommended by themselves and their friends to that recommended by editorial authorities. They are leery of mass culture and globalized corporations, so they seek to create their own culture. They express political opinions and offer frank assessments of commodities, corporations, and states, and they openly share these opinions with their friends and colleagues…"

"Social media outlets are new media capitalism’s attempt to absorb and capture this explosion of user-generated content as objectified surplus value.. Social media also have to be understood as software engineered to privilege and enhance certain users while closing off others…"

"However, it is myopic to only talk about exploitation while ignoring the power of the new social movement," Robert W. Gehl (p.5-6).