It’s time to change my the tagline of my blog. At the end of this post I have my own suggestions. You can skip right to them and leave a comment, but if you want the reason WHY I am changing the tagline to remove the word ‘journalism’ (until further notice) – keep reading.

While in Chicago I had coffee with John Bracken. I started rambling about all things internet/journalism, etc – and I came to explain a phrase that I have been using over and over since 2003.

“What we are seeing now is the most rapid evolution in the ability to exchange information.”

Which is to say: Big-J “Journalism” is not at the heart of what interests me. What I believe in and want to protect and ensure is the “open and honest exchange of information.” I believe that’s what journalism is – and that’s why I have dedicated myself to the industry/craft/ethics of journalism. -But by labeling myself as a ‘journalist’ or practicing ‘journalism’ I feel cornered. That word has lots of connotations. Either because the public has “lost faith in it” or because the definition of journalism is somewhat circular (ie: Journalism is something done by journalists or featured in journalistic publications).

I don’t want to try and define journalism here – but I do know what motivates me. It is the “open and honest exchange of information.” Taking a moment to reflect on that you’ll understand why the tagline “journalism is a process, not a product” has been my personal motto for so long.

But I am no longer satisfied. I don’t think the word “journalism” conveys the mission that spurred me into the field. Let me continue to explain and perhaps you can help me brainstorm.

I first wrote the underlined phrase above while working on my undergraduate honors thesis at U.C. Berkeley. It was a labor of love. If memory serves it was titled “A Re-actualization of Hegal, Information Exchange and a Free Society.” I’m sure my parents were thrilled with how I spent my college education (and their $).

But writing that thesis was very formative for my thinking and lately I’ve been revisiting the themes. So, let’s see if I can give a cliff’s note version, which should explain why I’m changing the tagline of this blog.

1. The Narrative (trying to squeeze in 65 pages here)

All of history can be explained as the evolution in the exchange of information.

• In the beginning, we could exchange physical information (celestial objects colliding, exchanging genetic material ….wink wink, physical movement).
• Exchange of cultural information (cave drawings, language, and symbolic objects ie: crowns).

200 years ago if I wanted to get a piece of cultural information to somebody, I was limited by physical constraints. I had to write it down and get that piece of paper into their hands.

• Travel got faster and faster. Soon we could go around the world in one day.

Physical restraints today are meaningless for most cultural information exchange.

• If I want to exchange cultural information with somebody – I can do it instantly and nearly free.

Sci-Fi future…

• Beam me up Scottie!!!! (physical information exchange goes through similar revolution… but this is obviously just me being a nerd).

“Information exchange” alone doesn’t guarantee a free society.

There are systems of abuse.

• Physical abuse: Harm or control (At a personal level this is akin to hitting or locking somebody in a cage).
• Cultural abuse: Lies and censorship.

In other words, I can exchange information that does harm.

The Generational Narrative to Freedom
(This part of the thesis is a little hazy in my memory).

• Every generation needs to have a civic dialog.
• That dialog needs to be “open and honest” in order to ensure freedom. I actually define freedom as the “open and honest exchange of information.” So – it’s a bit tautological.

The Drama of My Thesis (Cue the Violins)
(typical hippie/Marxist U.C. Berkeley thesis).

• I expressed concern that corporate control/consolidation of the media along with advertising were inhibiting the ability of society to engage in an open and honest dialog. The means of communication were being censored and advertisements can hardly be construed as “honest.”

The last chapter of the thesis addressed the Internet

• It was 2004 (pre-Dean campaign). I acknowledged the internet as a potential force to reckon these issues but admitted that it was too early and too vast to explore the idea.

Following the steps of this thesis one can see how I ended up perusing journalism. I basically thought to myself: “Where is there still an open and honest exchange of cultural information?”

That’s why “journalism is a process not a product.

I’ve spent enough time thinking about this phrase. I feel I’ve internalized it and I want to take it one step back, back to my roots, back to what got me here. I didn’t have nostalgia for Woodward and Bernstein. I don’t like hats with cards in them. I’m not even a particularly crafty wordsmith. But I do want to support the open and honest exchange of information.

Anyone with a careful eye may have noticed that my knight news project has gone from being called “Spot Journalism” (as noted on the Knight page) to “Spot Us.” That was a conscious decision not just because it’s a clever name/url – but also I thought labeling this “journalism” would have brought up some of the same confusions I expressed above. I don’t care about that word persay. What I care about is the open and honest exchange of information, as I believe THAT’S what is needed to keep a democracy strong.

I have no idea what should replace it – but here are ideas off the top of my head.

• Digidave | The Information Needs of Society (too close to Knight’s mission statement?)
• Digidave | The Evolution in Information (too vauge?)
• Digidave | Understanding Information Flow (eh….trying to hard)
• Digidave | The Evolution of Information Exchange (too long, jargony?)
• Digidave | How Do We Keep Info Open and Honest (too whiny, mission driven?