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22 January 2008
Expert Discusses Impact of New Technologies on Journalism
Ask America Webchat transcript, January 22
Patrick Butler, vice president for programs at the International Center for Journalists, answered questions in a January 22 Webchat on some of the changes happening in journalism because of new technologies and the opportunity they provide for people to get more involved in shaping their societies.
Following is the transcript:
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of International Information Programs
Ask America Webchat Transcript
Media Making Change: New Technology, New Voices
Guest: Patrick Butler
Date: January 22, 2008
Time: 9:00 a.m. EST (1400 GMT)
Moderator: Welcome to our second webchat on the topic of "Media Making Change".
Today is January 22. The webchat will begin at 14:00 GMT, however you are invited to begin submitting your questions now.
Moderator: We'll be getting started shortly. We see your questions coming in, thank you.
Patrick Butler: Hello to everyone around the world. I’m looking forward to talking with you about some of the exciting changes that are happening in journalism because of new technologies and the opportunity they bring to help get more people involved in shaping their societies. Please feel free to send your questions.
Question [andersongn]: Hi Patrick, thanks for the web chat. Some countries in Africa (and other parts of the world) have the issue of low bandwidth. Knowing this problem in many places, how is new media being used in Africa? Do you have some good examples?
Answer [Patrick Butler]: Low bandwidth is certainly making it harder for people in some parts of the world to fully take advantage of the Internet. That will change, and there are many organizations working to bring higher-speed Internet to parts of the world without it.
But even before that happens, new technologies are having an impact. In some parts of the world, such as Africa, the changes are happening more with mobile phones than with the Internet. Many people who might not have had access to news before are getting it through their mobiles. Everything from how crop prices are fluctuating so farmers can know when to bring their produce to market, to information about demonstrations that are meant to hold leaders accountable. In this way, many parts of the world are ahead of the U.S.
When I was in Botswana recently, I mentioned to a journalism student at the university where we were working that I wanted to talk to mobile phone companies about how to get news delivered via mobile phone. He said “You mean like this?” and showed me the latest headlines from one of the leading daily newspapers on his mobile.
Q [Olivia]: The new technologies make it easier for people to get information, but does this mean they are really better informed? How can people filter the quality of the flow of information that the new technologies facilitate?
A [Patrick Butler]: People do have to become very smart consumers of news, especially with the amazing amount of information available on the Internet. Although many people criticize the “mainstream media” – newspapers, radio and television – you do generally know that news that appears there is being carefully edited, fact-checked, etc. (I know not always!)
But you have to be very careful about what you read on the Web. Where did it come from? What are the motivations of whoever put it there? Can I trust that it’s independent? Can I find it from more than one source? The danger is that once something is on the Internet it tends to be accepted as fact and repeated many times.
Moderator: To those of you just joining us, welcome! Mr. Butler is reviewing your questions now.
Comment [Begench]: I'd like to thank the U.S. Government for its huge contribution to Turkmenistan (Central Asia). Especially for Information Resource Centers for people to learn much about new technologies, English language, etc.
Thanks very much.
Comment [Sahar]: New technology has definitely provided us a way to share our feelings, our thoughts with others.
When Pakistani govt imposed emergency in the country, people began to comment on their blogs because only news channels were banned but obviously govt couldn't ban the websites as there are millions of bloggers present in the country and each of them runs more than one blog.
Thus technology has given voice to the suppressed people.
Thanks
Sahar Majid
Sub Editor (Dawn Group of Newspapers)
Pakistan
Q [Naimat Ullah Khan]: LC Karachi: How and to what extent, does traditional media remain effective despite the boom of digital Journalism?
A [Patrick Butler]: I think that if the traditional media accept and embrace these changes, they can actually thrive in the era of digital journalism. Traditional media often have a trusted brand, so when you read something from a prestigious newspaper in your country on line you may trust it more than something that comes from a less well-known source. But traditional media have to become more relevant to people who prefer digital journalism -- people who like blogs, multimedia content, etc. The traditional media that thrive will be those that embrace those new techniques without giving up the quality journalism they are known for.
Moderator: Dear "Mirijia", we see your question, thank you! There is no need to submit your question more than once...it will not appear on this screen until it is answered by today's guest speaker.
Comment [moussa]: I think that the propaganda of the mass media now days is just waste of time in talking about things which are not interesting and topics are just a hypocritical, because in the real life the situation is very difficult to accept or to deal with. For instance, why we see in the mass media just conversations where the writers vilify, pervert or at least insulting a program or something likes that. All in all, the media doesn’t go far than a speculation.
In fact, the mass media now days depend on the huge amounts of money, More over, the first responsible of the mass media is looking for a good and comfortable source of money even if it is over our virtues or traditions. What is important is the income nothing else is more important than the income. Indeed, I don’t think that we’ll have a good media without a good unit of economic which respect or at least based on traditions and virtues of any nation. But the question that suggests itself is it possible to have an economic which respects tradition and virtues. Surely the traditions and virtues will be destroyed. Moreover, most of us let her children front the television for all days. He doesn’t matter what he is watching and what he is receiving from the outside by TV. The parents nowadays are caring to prevent their children to go away in the street when they do that for a purpose to protect their children from the outside, but they forget that it’s possible for the outside to target your kids in your house, that is the question. Besides, the media doesn’t care about the good education or to pass virtues by the media to our children. They are looking for money nothing else. At last, the mass media play on their purpose; I mean the economic goal nothing else more important than the money.
moussa hicham
Q [Mirija]: How the new technology have made an impact in the good governance processes?
A [Patrick Butler]: I think it has had quite an impact in many ways. In places as varied as the Philippines, Egypt, Ukraine and Guatemala, people are using new media tools to hold governments accountable for their actions. To cite just one example, Wael Abbas (the first blogger to win our prestigious Knight International Journalism Award) and others like him in Egypt have put info (including video captured on cell phones) in their blogs that other media have been reluctant to report on -- police brutality, election fraud, etc. Those blog posts have had an impact, such as police officers being arrested for brutally torturing people. This might never have happened without new technology.
Moderator: Today's webchat is the second chat in support of the U.S. State Department's eJournalUSA on the topic of "Media Making Change".
Q [assogba]: Do you think that new technology have a negative impact in the journalism?
A [Patrick Butler]: It is a danger, yes. For one thing, everyone is trying to be the first to get information out on the web -- unlike in the old days, every second matters if you want to be the first. So that makes some journalists and media organizations less careful. Bad information gets out on the web. We have to be sure that we're maintaining the same "quality control" standards as before even with the pressure to be first on the web.
I'll cite two more dangers. One is that the web tends to be a place where opinion -- sometimes expressed very harshly -- is preferred over careful and unbiased reporting. People often post some very hateful speech on the web, stuff that wouldn't get into mainstream media.
Another danger is that because we haven't found a good way to be profitable on the web, the kinds of expensive and in-depth journalism that mainstream media have done (such as investigative reporting and foreign reporting) are harder to support. Here in the US, many newspapers that we have relied on for investigative reporting and foreign news are cutting their staffs. So the question is, where will we get that kind of reporting in the future?
Q [Naimat Ullah Khan]: LC Karachi: Websites, Blogs & social networking tools made it easier to reach the audience, but it also endanger many aspects of the societies. Clashes of Culture, Policies, Politics in regional aspects & global scenario, all focused on these tools? Don't you think it should be properly monitored by some indigenous organization with authoritative powers over governments of the world?
A [Patrick Butler]: I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but I do think it's dangerous to start talking about anyone with authoritative powers monitoring what goes on the Internet. Many governments are trying to do exactly that. Of course we all understand that if governments can monitor what goes on the web, they will cut off anything that makes them look bad, including important reporting and opinion.
But the same is true of any other organization that might be given power to monitor and control what goes on the web. Anyone with that power is going to abuse it to permit some kinds of information to be disseminated and prevent other kinds of information from being disseminated. In general, I think the advantage of the Web is that it's free for anyone to use. But all the more reason why the public needs to become very careful consumers of news, as noted in a previous question.
Moderator: Mr. Butler directs your attention to the website of his organization the International Center for Journalists at www.icfj.org
where you will find information about media development and journalism training opportunities around the world, available in five languages
Also available on the site and relevant to today's discussion are an interactive guide for bloggers and a weekly column on multimedia journalism tips.
Q [Crossrainbow325]: Hello Patrick, thank you for this web-chat.
For this new technology, what kind of influence and changes will be happened in the developing country such as China or India, which have huge population?
A [Patrick Butler]: China and India are both fascinating cases. There are lots of examples of how new technology is being used in China, in some cases to get information to the public that can never appear in more traditional media. Internet access is growing rapidly in China, and it's almost impossible for the government to control it as they have traditional media. We're seeing lots of very cutting-edge reporting in China that is happening on the Internet. Unfortunately, we're also seeing journalists who use that forum being punished. But again, the government can't control all of it.
India is much more free, of course. We have a Knight International Journalism Fellow -- a trainer who is an Indian-American environmental journalist -- working in India to help journalists do a better job of covering the environment. He is using new technology tools to do very exciting things, like monitor pollution in neighborhoods. That is another way that new technology can provide information that would be very difficult in traditional media. And people can use that information to demand change.
Moderator: If you are just joining us, welcome! We see your questions coming in. Mr. Butler will review and answer your questions as soon as possible. There is no need to submit your question twice.
Q [oels]: Mirana TVM: We are on the process of launching a new website on women. In Madagascar, it's the first and a new project this website on women. We are all journalists and would like to ask some advice about how to make it more interesting (writing, titles, photos, link?). We have already visited some sites but did not find American sites. Any advice?
A [Patrick Butler]: Congratulations on the new web site, which sounds very important. I'm not a web designer, but I am an admirer of good web sites! One piece of advice is to keep it fairly simple. Don't try to use too many "bells and whistles." People will be drawn to your site for the quality of information there. Writing for the web is different from writing for mainstream media, but not THAT different. Keep the writing simple and concise, and tell compelling stories about women who are making a difference. Use multimedia content if you have that capability -- photos, of course, but also audio and video if you have people who can provide high-quality content.
My organization sends out professional journalism trainers all over the world. That program is called the Knight International Journalism Fellowship program, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation here in the U.S. We are always looking for idea from around the world for "transformational" projects in which our trainers can provide the help a local organization needs to truly have an impact on society through good journalism. So any of you who are reading this can go to our Knight Fellowship web site to suggest a project. And new media projects are definitely welcome! Go to our main web site, www.icjf.org click on "Knight International" in the top bar (but look at everything else while you're there!) That will take you to the Knight site, and you can suggest projects for us there.
Moderator: Participants in today's chat may be interested in the following U.S. State Department publications. These publications are free for you to use in any way you would like:
The Handbook of Independent Journalism can be found at: http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/journalism/index.htm
How to Run a Responsible Press Office can be found at: http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/pressoffice/
Q [Naimat Ullah Khan]: LC Karachi: How & to what extent, Modern media does frames differently Vs. Old media? Does it also changed the behaviors & ethics of Traditional Journalism?
A [Patrick Butler]: This is a very crucial question. There is a real danger that "new media" will adopt less stringent ethics than "old media." We have to fight against that. That means that the general ethical principles that journalists have always looked to -- accuracy, honesty, fairness and balance, independence, minimizing harm -- should remain the ethics for new media.
But there are so many more opportunities for abuse in new media. Examples -- using cell phone cameras to capture information without someone knowing. That can be done in a good way, as I mentioned in the earlier example from Egypt, but it can also be dangerous if it is used to capture video on people's private lives in a way that doesn't advance the public interest.
The question is, why do I want to put this information on the web? Is there a good journalistic reason for using it? Who will be harmed if I use the information? Can I minimize that harm? Those are the same questions we would ask in "old media" and we should also be asking them in "new media."
Moderator: Once again, the site Mr. Butler refers to above is "Knight International" at: http://knight.icfj.org/
Q [oels]: Mirana TVM: Any advice of methods to make the advertisement attractive in such a site because this site about women will be living on ads?
A [Patrick Butler]: Advertising has been the biggest problem for digital media. Many media organizations in the U.S. have been unable to make a profit from their web sites. I think that will change in the future, but people who go to the web don't want to be inundated with ads, and they're very annoyed by the kinds of ads that are really intrusive, like pop-ups. For a site like yours, you certainly want to approach companies and organizations that provide products and services to women. Like the news content, the ads should be catchy and succinct. Combining the ad with something that makes people want to click on it -- such as a free service, an opportunity to take a quiz, etc. -- will make people more likely to pay attention to your ads.
Moderator: Those of you joining today's webchat may wish to join our upcoming chat which will take place on January 24, 2008 at 17:00 GMT.
Please join innovation writer Jessica Hilberman for a discussion of "Social Networking Sites: On the Campaign Trail & Beyond" at:
http://www.america.gov/multimedia/askamerica.html#hilberman_24_jan_2008
Moderator: Mr. Butler continues to review your questions.
Q [daniesza]: Communications technology has become a sort of global town hall and has played a part in sharing information and important news otherwise unaccessible through mainstream journalism, including and maybe even more so in the US. Will the internet remain the truly democratic platform it is becoming more and more (considering the lame duck administration's attempts to pull in its reigns) and do you think mainstream journalists today will begin to sit up and take note of what is circulating in the ether? In brief, will traditional media be able to do justice to news as quickly, brutally honest, and untainted as today's blogs, forums, etc.?
A [Patrick Butler]: That is one of the exciting things about the new technology -- the "town hall" aspect. It really has given people an opportunity not just to GET information but also to SHARE information. Traditional media -- and I am a big fan of traditional media -- have to realize that to be relevant now, the old model doesn't work. That model was "We will tell you what you need to know. Sit back and receive the information we're giving you." Now people want to be part of an exchange of information. Traditional media are welcoming people to send in content -- for example, if you took video of a disaster send it to us -- but they have to do more. They have to engage their audiences and really listen to them. I think there's still a role for professional journalists as opposed to "citizen" journalists. But if you're living by the old model alone, you probably won't survive.
I do think that traditional media are noticing and changing -- perhaps earlier in developed countries where Internet penetration is higher and thus the threat is more serious. When I travel to places where the internet penetration is lower, I still sometimes see that attitude of "we don't need to change, so few people here are on the Internet." That's a dangerous attitude because the internet will grow everywhere and even those few who are on the internet now are often very engaged consumers of news. You don't want to ignore them.
Moderator: The U.S. State Department, Bureau of International Information Programs presents its January "ejournal USA", The Next New Thing.
Innovation is the art of creating something new, and every day in the United States and around the world scientists, students, and everyday people are working to bring to life an idea that is theirs alone. Read this journal at:
http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0108/ijse/ijse0108.htm
A [Patrick Butler]: I also want to comment on one of the earlier comments posted on the chat about how bloggers and others in Pakistan were able to get information that was suppressed in mainstream media. I think Pakistan is an excellent example of that. And as more and more people in Pakistan become "wired," that kind of information that gets out on the web when mainstream media are being censored will become even more important.
We also saw that in Burma in September and October during the protests. We outside of Burma benefited from new technology by seeing video that was shot of the protest by people on their cell phones, and reading blogs from a country where outside media were being kept out. And people in Burma benefited from getting information on their mobile phones and on the Internet (for those who are connected) that they couldn't get in mainstream media. The question is, has it made a difference there? The Burmese regime is still just as repressive. But I think that over time, we will see change in countries like that. We have to remind ourselves that all this new technology is still in its infancy, and it's improving every day.
Q [LCIslamabad]: I am Muhammad Sajid Mirza, Lincoln Corner Coordinator, International Islamic University, Islamabad.
My question is: "As media is being used to achieve political goals. What role this new media may play in promoting education in developing countries and how?"
A [Patrick Butler]: Because you are at a university, I'm going to respond to your question regarding university education. For one thing, university journalism schools need to make major changes to their curricula to reflect these changes. My organization, ICFJ, has embarked on a project with the University of Guadalajara in Mexico, for example, to begin a Digital Journalism Center that will offer advanced degrees to students from all over Latin America (and even from Spanish-language media in the US) on digital media. We think it will really help both traditional media in Latin America and those who are starting new media projects to take advantage of all these changes that are amplifying the ability of journalism to get information to people and engage people in their societies more.
Once we have the center launched this year, we'd like to do the same in other countries around the world. So that's one way that education can change in developing countries. Another way is for universities to take a role in educating people how to be good consumers of news. People have to be able to evaluate what they're seeing in the media very carefully. Here in the U.S., some universities are requiring that all students take a semester course that helps them evaluate news. That will help us manage one of the dangers of new technology, which several of you have brought up in questions.
Q [Samuel Eyitayo]: How can journalists in developing countries use these new technology keep the governments of the day accountable to the people that elected them?
A [Patrick Butler]: This is a good question to end on because it really is the most important lesson of new media. Journalists should embrace these new technologies to increase the ways in which they can tell stories, to expand the audience (through cell phones, for example) and to bring our audiences into the process as providers of news, not just as consumers of it. As they do that, they must be careful not to let their ethical standards fall -- which is, unfortunately, easier with new technology. By doing that, journalists can play an even greater role than they have in the past in holding governments accountable to the people that elected them. This is even more true in countries where the government controls the traditional media. Using these new techniques -- as we've seen in places like the Philippines and Egypt -- can actually bring about change that wouldn't be possible only with traditional media.
I wish all of you great luck in using these new technologies. Despite much of the gloom and doom we're seeing in the media here with layoffs and cutbacks (which I worry about very much), it's actually a very exciting time to be a journalist.
Please take advantage of the resources that we've talked about during this chat. My organization is here to help you if we can. I really appreciate all the great questions. Good luck to all of you.
Moderator: We wish to thank Patrick Butler for joining us today. The webchat is now closed.
A full transcript of today's webchat will be available on our Ask America homepage usually within one business day.
(Guests are chosen for their expertise. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of State.)
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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
