Okay, so I dont really feel like this enrty to the blog is very complete but I would just like to get this up to see if I could help anyone else get started in the right direction. I am going to try and continue looking into the subject and hopefully with more help I will be able to figure out a more comprehensive answer to what civil media is, and what it hopes to accomplish.
From some of the things that I read, civil media is the use of media and information to help society function in the the way that it should. It helps foster democratic ideals and leads to greater awareness as citizens of one another. It was interesting to note as I went through some of the information how there seemed to be a trend away from large corporations in charge of information. There seemed to be a large push to putting publishing and circulating information into the actual hands of people. Anarchy in an informational sense. Now there is a large range of stances on how media should be regulated, just like on any topic, but the main feel that I got from the entire thing was that civic media is the use of media to connect people so that society can be improved, not so that a huge corporation can have unfettered access to all information and have the opportunity to censor what it wishes.
MIT has a site on some of the applications of civic media and they do a good job of explaining it. Be patient though, it takes some of them some time to get to their points on their videos.
http://civic.mit.edu/what-is-civic-media
Just a quick example of bypassing the media conglomerates.
https://www.civicmediacenter.org/
Please reply and correct me if you think I have erred. I would also appreciate any other info on where to find a more concise layout of information on what civic media is.
2 comments:
I'm glad you followed up on this topic. I wouldn't say civic media is anarchic in any way. There's a difference between transparency and a lack of order (or merely pulling down the prior order).
I do think you've gotten us off to a good start with this one. I wonder with the connection might be between civic and civil media. It seems dialogue online is increasingly uncivil, and that means poor citizenship. Just a thought.
The internet and other technologies that have really exploded over the last few decades have definitely made it more possible for citizens to be more informed about the world around them. However, as Dr. Burton said, there are many things in the media that are increasingly uncivil, and we must be VERY careful where we get our information from. Is it our duty then, as citizens, to make sure to correctly inform ourselves, and to help others become informed?
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