Journalism is a Process, Not a Product

Posts in category Current Affairs/Politics

A Civil Rights Movement in San Francisco – Gay Marriage Protest

Nov07
2008 2 Comments Written by Digidave

As the liberal U.C. Berkeley graduate now living in San Francisco I was bummed about Proposition 8 being passed, which outlawed gay marriage.

From the video below, I think you’ll see that this is more than just a proposition on the California ballot – this is about civil liberties. Why should I have the right to marry a person of my choosing if a homosexual can’t?

That’s just as absurd as me being able to drink from a certain water fountain or having first dibs to the front of the bus because of my skin color. It just seems wrong to me.

As I see things, it’s only a matter of time before gay marriage becomes legal. That’s how civil rights movements go. Does anybody really believe passing a law making gay marriage illegal will squash the desire of homosexuals to marry. That their fundamental desire to be together will just disappear? Like anybody else they love their partners and if they are lucky enough to find somebody they want to spend the rest of their lives with, they want a legal ceremony to recognize that union. Making it illegal is stalling the inevitable.

Maybe if you aren’t exposed to gays in your daily routine you think the issue of gay marriage will just disappear. That is naive. I just walked out my apartment and saw the following. If you watch the video below then try and leave a comment below that all this is a fad and it will disappear. I’m all ears.

Posted in New York/San Francisco, Weblogs

One Man’s Garbage…… How Can We Decide What Garbage Is?

Sep03
2008 3 Comments Written by Digidave

Thoughts that cross my mind while watching the Republican National Convention. I admit my bias: I’m a young Jewish liberal who has grown up in California and lived in New York. We all know what that means – I’m a flaming liberal.

Yes – it’s true.

But I also keep an open mind. So why is it that I can’t seem to grasp the point-of-view of hard-core conservatives? Is it me or them? And why does it have to be a me vs. them situation?

————–

Thinking about this, my mind shifted to journalism (as is often the case).

“One man’s journalism is another man’s blog.”

(Now I personally hate when blogs are conflated to mean “crap.” A “blog” is really just a content management system. But – “blog” is often used in this sense – “oh, it’s just a blog.” So – for the sake of the quote above, that’s how I’m using the term. But – I hate proliferating that misuse of the word, so follow the link if you want to know what I mean by saying blogs are just a CMS.)

Let’s take a look at the statement again: “One man’s journalism is another man’s blog.”

This issue is often stated as the “silo’d argument.”

It is often described as somebody’s “biggest fear of the internet.” They tend to say something like….”what if we all end up in silos where we only read the journalism that we already agree with. How will we get the information we don’t know we need.”

I think it’s an incredible pertinent question especially given the state of our country  -  literally split into two waring ideological parties.

I think sites like NewsTrust and NewsCred help – but this is an incredibly large problem. Why is one man’s journalism another man’s “blog.” How can we create standards such that citizens of one country (one democracy) can have a conversation based on the same information. If we can’t get on the same page – how can we get on the same ballot?

I don’t have a solution but I do think that a common means of communication is an essence in any functional democracy. It’s the ability to see yourself in another so that we can act.

“Only that in you which is me can hear what I’m saying”
—-Baba Ram Dass

How can we accomplish this in an age of disaggregated media? I don’t think it’s an insurmountable problem.

I Too Have a Crush on Obama – A Rare Political Post

Aug29
2008 5 Comments Written by Digidave

I’m not a political blogger. I don’t intend to become one. But after Obama’s speech tonight – I have to write something.

I was 18 when George W. Bush took office. It was the first election I voted in. I have lived my entire adult life under G.W.’s administration. My entire 20′s (so far). All of college and grad-school (you see where I’m going).

I realize I’m buying into a tagline – but I don’t want more of the same. In fact, during the primaries this is why I voted for Obama. I realize that Clinton wasn’t a shabby candidate. I know many people that I respect who supported her – but I drank the Obama Koolaide and I think it was a direct result of my life experience.

Don’t forget – before G.W. I lived eight years under a different Clinton. That takes me back to when I was ten years old. And don’t forget from age six to ten I was living under the first Bush. Before that was Reagen who I only vaguely remember seeing on T.V.

I’ve lived my entire conscious life in a country run by two families.

That’s why Obama’s call for change resonates with me. It’s exciting and inspiring.

Hearing Obama say we will break our addiction to foreign oil I got the chills. This must have been what it felt like to hear J.F.K suggest we would send a man to the moon.

Not to say that breaking the addiction will be easy. That’s why it’s called an addiction! It will require lots of work from everyday average citizens – but again, this plays into Obama’s strength. It’s not Obama the person that I like. Nor do I think he is some kind of government-executive mastermind that can balance a budget while rubbing his tummy and patting his head.

What I support is inspiration and hope. To say we will put aside the silly political games (swift boating), put your cards on the table and say “I think this will work. It’s different – but we have to push forward.”

It is hope – it is change, etc.

Again: I realize I’m repeating the obvious rhetoric, but I’m not the only one. Obviously the guy represents these things to more than just me and that, in the end, will be his greatest strength.

If Obama is elected and he says something to the tune of “ask not what your country can do for you…..” – people will respond. Everyone like me that has felt alienated from government for the past eight years, perhaps their entire lives, will stand up and say “here’s what I’m going to do for my country.”

That is more valuable than any other kind of financial capital.

As far as Republicans go I like John McCain. I have always thought of him as a respectable guy. But if he can’t mobolize the country and create the shift not just in our policy – but our mind set – then even if he wins, we all lose. What we need is to get engaged back into the process of politics.

CopyCamp – The Idea Has Legs: What Worked and What Could be Improved

Jun30
2008 Leave a Comment Written by Digidave

Long time readers will know a side passion of mine has been the proliferation of this idea I call “CopyCamp” – which was thought of with friend NoNeck Noel after attending a PodCamp.

Background on the idea: CopyCamp – an Unconference for News Organizations.

On Saturday the San Jose Mercury News held the first ever Copycamp. It’s amazing when you get to see an idea become a reality. What’s even better is taking a step back, figuring out what worked and what didn’t, in the hopes that the idea will improve and benefit others in the future.

How it all happened. Pre-planning.

This is probably the most laborious part of putting on any kind of unconference.

1. Organizing Principle: It requires somebody at the helms. That person was Chris O’brien. Without Chris’ dedication to the concept – wrangling in other Merc staff and inviting members of the public, this never would have happened. I’m not sure how many hours Chris put into planning this but I assure you – these things don’t organize themselves. Using the CopyCamp wiki will help – but won’t make it magic.

2. Food. Creativity and innovation require food. The Mercury News was gracious enough to provide bagels, coffee, sandwiches and sodas. Total money spent: about $350. I can imagine a local pizza place sponsoring food in the future, bringing the cost of having a CopyCamp down to $0.

3. Space: The Mercury News had a perfect assembly room space that could easily fit everyone. In the event a newsroom doesn’t have space cost goes up unless a local YMCA or civic-center place is willing to help out.

4. Focus: Unconferences are “unstructured” – but they have a focus. In this case the Merc was inviting community leaders into the newsroom to discuss issues of race and demographics and how the Merc could do a better job telling that story in the bay area.

What happened: The Day Itself

1. Setting up: People arrived 10am. By 10:30am everyone was socializing. Chris and the Merc team did an excellent job of getting a fantastic cross-section of community and civic leaders. Many of them knew each other, but we had nametags and plenty of time for everyone to do introductions.

2. Getting ready: By 11am the 35 in attendance sat in a circle and had already finished quick introductions (Name, affiliation and why they came). Then we asked participants to suggest topics that we could break into and discuss.

3. The topic breakouts: They were (a. Journalism that matters – ensuring that the Merc and journalism stay strong. (b. Racial marginalization – making sure certain topics aren’t overlooked completely. (b. The immigrant experience in the bay area. Each group had a note taker who, after lunch, reported back to the larger group.

Low point: I’m willing to admit the day didn’t go perfectly. The main issue was one of moderation. It was very easy for community members to accuse the Merc of not doing a good job or not listening to their readership enough. Conversely the Merc staff could have made the situation worse by retorting that their job is incredibly tough and the public just doesn’t understand (the later didn’t happen).

There were a few moments where it seemed that, as a paper, the Merc was taking on some harsh criticism. Criticism is good – as long as it’s put forth in a constructive fashion. This whole day was planned to be a constructive event, not a shouting match. Luckily it never got out of control. The community members involved had a genuine interest in seeing the Merc succeed and their criticism had the best intentions and the Merc staff never took a high road in reaction.

Still – the point stands. These situations require the type of moderation that is a developed skill. We could have benefited from somebody with more experience in managing open space technology, especially in highly volatile situations.

The High: The end of the meeting was certainly a high. There was discussion about “next steps.” YES!!!!!

As a group CopyCampers seemed excited about the fact that the news staff was listening to them and had invited them in to get their feedback. The paper belonged to them. They had the Mercs ears. Conversely it was a way for the Merc staff to explain some of the struggles and decisions they face day-to-day. That’s the type of understanding that allows groups to move forward.

Perhaps it will help lead to the Merc becoming the host of community blogs? Perhaps it was just a morale boost – but connections were made, people who want to make a difference were introduced and from that there is no telling what could happen.

Future vision: What now?

For the Merc: Chris will have to spread the word about what the community members said that day. He will have to report back to the collective if there are any responses from the higher-ups at the Merc. Perhaps in 4-6 months there could be another CopyCamp that is twice as large – and will be able to start where we left off this weekend.

For your paper: HOST A COPYCAMP. The instructions are above and at our blog and wiki.

The potential: I would to see a copycamp with a different focus on “lessons we can share” – where local bloggers and citizen journalists can come in and talk about blogging, podcasting, twitter, etc and news reporters can talk about beat reporting. My bet – each part wants to learn from the other.

You name the issue: I think a CopyCamp could be convened.

More reading: Chris Amico got some good video as we were leaving.
Rob Knight’s post: “CopyCamp was Awesome”

p.s. I will try and follow this post with video at CopyCamp.us.

Posted in Environment/Geography, Journalism Practice, Links and People, New York/San Francisco, Open Source and Community, Straight Geek, Weblogs

Ethan Zuckerman – Explains Global Voices

Jun18
2008 Leave a Comment Written by Digidave

I’ve seen Ethan Zuckerman speak twice now and this time, before I left MIT, I had to let him know just how inspiring I think he is. Every time he speaks, I get jazzed up. There is no other way to put it. Sometimes I fail to find the words that express what an exciting time it is online. That’s how I feel after I hear Ethan talk. I wish I could capture that feeling, put it in a bottle, and drink from it every time I need to write a new blog post.

In the video below Ethan talks about Global Voices. As he notes, this is his brain-child but not his work. David Sasaki and Solana Larsen deserve tons of kudos. Every time I see David he is criss-crossing the world, finding a new group to empower and Solana has the task of herding volunteers (cats) from around the world. Global Voices has a fantastic group of people behind the wheel and I’m excited to see where they end up. If you’ve never heard of Global Voices, take a few minutes to watch this video. They can best be described as "fighting the good fight."

But don’t take my word for it….

Video thumbnail. Click to play
Click To Play

Posted in Environment/Geography, Links and People, Travel
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  • @christopherKrug can you send me an email with reminder/update/details for your visit to the Bay. 6 days ago
  • @miguelpaz thank you. I continue to follow your project from afar. It's looking great. 1 week ago
  • @corybe Fair misinterpretation of post (my fault). Not saying they're dumb, but institutions not set up for individuals to address challenge 2 weeks ago
  • @markbriggs @corybe @ckanal agree not judging a book by cover. But I'm judging a web presence by its website. Fair in my opinion. 2 weeks ago
  • @ckanal @corybe late response: never said brdcast aren't smart. But maj. Aren't frwd looking. Big distinction. 2 weeks ago