Computational journalism – journalists as data miners,

and more

Brian McNairQUT

Left and right east and west communist and capitalist elite and mass professional and amateur producer and consumer.

the limiting fact of geographical and communicative distance,  the political capacity of states to enforce communicative control and cultural isolation,  the robustness of professional and aesthetic distinctions and hierarchies in the production of journalism.

Dominance/control paradigmElite control and dominance of media and other cultural institutions produce ‘consensus’ and support for status quo

Predictable outcomes (social stability) based on vertically hierarchical control of information

Elites control

Media control

Masses support

Cultural Chaos

Chaos/competitive paradigm

Globalised public sphere

Mainstream media

Sphere of elite control

Non-elite media

(Wikipedia, bloggers,

social networking,

user generated content)

Sphere of dissent and opposition

Elites compete with non-elites for access to and impact on the globalised public sphere, which constantly evolves, changing with each iteration of the cycle

The evolution of the systemcannot be forecast with certainty

Globalised public sphere

Mainstream media

Sphere of elite control

Non-elite media

(Wikipedia, bloggers,

social networking,

user generated content)

Sphere of dissent and opposition

Globalised public sphere

Mainstream media

Sphere of elite control

Non-elite media

(Wikipedia, bloggers,

social networking,

user generated content)

Sphere of dissent and opposition

Globalised public sphere

Mainstream media

Sphere of elite control

Non-elite media

(Wikipedia, bloggers,

social networking,

user generated content)

Sphere of dissent and opposition

Globalised public sphere

Mainstream media

Sphere of elite control

Non-elite media

(Wikipedia, bloggers,

social networking,

user generated content)

Sphere of dissent and opposition

Globalised public sphere

Mainstream media

Sphere of elite control

Non-elite media

(Wikipedia, bloggers,

social networking,

user generated content,

WIKILEAKS)

Sphere of debate,

dissent and opposition

Bill Clinton & Monicagate

9/11

 Acceleration of information flow

 Proliferation of information sources

 Dissolution of producer-consumer boundary

 Loss of control

 Collapse of 20th century analogue media business models

Freedom House 2011 report

Free partly free not free0

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Series 1Series 2

Chaos in the Middle EastThe instantaneous nature of how social media communicate self-broadcast ideas, unlimited by publication deadlines and broadcast news slots, explains in part the speed at which these revolutions have unravelled, their almost viral spread across a region. It explains too, the often loose and non-hierarchical organisation of the protest movements unconsciously modelled on the networks of the web.(Peter Beaumont, February 25 2011)

GM Crops“Parts of the media have conducted such an extraordinary campaign of distortion, it is hard to know where to begin. Anyone who has dared to raise even the smallest hand in protest is accused of being either corrupt or a Dr Strangelove”(Tony Blair, 1999)

Autism in the newsMMRHealth scare or cause for concern?

Tony BlairWhen I fought the 1997 election - just ten years ago – we took an issue a day. In 2005, we had to have one for the morning, another for the afternoon and by the evening the agenda had already moved on.

You have to respond to stories also in real time. Frequently the problem is as much assembling the facts as giving them. Make a mistake and you quickly transfer from drama into crisis.(Tony Blair, June 12 2007)

The feral beastFirst, scandal or controversy beats ordinary reporting hands down. News is rarely news unless it generates heat as much as or more than light.

 Second, attacking motive is far more potent than attacking judgement. It is not enough for someone to make an error. It has to be venal. Conspiratorial. Third, the fear of missing out means today's media, more than ever before, hunts in a pack. In these modes it is like a feral beast, tearing people and reputations to bits. But no-one dares miss out.

The ‘sideshow’ syndrome

Lindsay Tanner, former Cabinet minister, Australia

To maintain an appearance of activity and to feed the ravenous media, governments feel obliged to serve up a stream of announceables. The policy merit of these announcements is largely irrelevant, as long as they’re directed at tackling a perceived problem that attracts media coverage… the purpose of an announceable is to send a message, not to solve problem.  

Wikileaks

Tehran 2009 – Neda Soltan

Wikileaks

Julian Assange It has been my long term belief that what advances us as a civilization is the entirety of our intellectual record, and the entirety of our understanding about what we are going through. What human institutions are like, and how they actually behave. And if we are to make rational decisions, in so far as any decisions can be rational, then we have to have information drawn from the real world (From a debate held at the Frontline Club in London, July 2 2011). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VdFtb4zNXE