Given all the ways that one can use the Internet -email, graphics, video, social networking- it is no surprise that it has officially changed many of the aspects of politics. There definitely has been an increase in the use of the Internet by those seeking political information. It allows politicians, candidates, their campaigns and voters to have a rapid response to events and messages posted by their peers and opponents. Stories or events that used to take days to unfold are now coming out within minutes of occurrence. The numbers of people claiming to read a newspaper are declining daily and why wouldn’t they? I try to read the newspaper on a daily basis, but by the time I actually get to finishing it, there seem to be numerous add-ons to what I’ve already read, making it a must for late night recaps on the web. Being that this is the case, we should take a look at how the Internet has had an effect on mainstream media reporting. Reporters can now blog, post video clips and updates to their stories 24/7 using the web or their smart-phones, and we’re all here to watch.
In November of 2007, Mitt Romney was campaigning in South Carolina when 3 women in matching bright outfits approached him. Assuming they were cheerleaders from a nearby University he gave them a hug. Unfortunately for Mr. Romney, Scott Conroy, who worked for CBS News, filmed the hug with his hand-held camera and sent the image to the television network’s political desk in New York. The video was published online the next morning. “You’re standing there doing your job, and all of a sudden Mitt Romney’s hugging Hooter’s girls. It’s one of the times you’re glad you’re filming,’ Mr. Conroy recalled. It’s clear you can see the joy in this reporter’s tone.
When 61-year-old citizen journalist Mayhill Fowler elbowed her way through the crowd at a campaign event in South Dakota in 2008, no one was aware of her intentions. As Mr. Clinton shook her hand, she deftly drew him into a response to an article published in Vanity Fair that examined his post-presidential life. “Sleazy” and “Slimy” are among the words that issue from the former president’s mouth in regards to Todd Purdam, the magazine’s national editor. Within hours, audio of the exchange was available for the world to hear on the Huffington Post website. This brings up a question of ethics in the way technology is used in reporting today. This woman should have identified herself as to whom she was working for, and even more, Mr. Clinton should’ve asked or withheld from answering the question.
We see that journalism can get a little dirty sometimes. In this day and age everyone’s looking for a downfall, for a slip-up, and with the growth of social media, everyone’s lives are being exposed, making the search that much easier. So what happens when a public figure tries to deny a select few entry into his world?
Rick Perry, the Republican Governor of Texas, has been accused of blocking select journalists from access to his Twitter account. The thought of politicians even engaging in something called “Twitter” and participating in the act of “tweeting” sounds almost childish, but is a major reality in today’s society. It plays a major part in the way their campaigns run, and how the public perceives him, and for some, is a way they get their information. As someone who generally likes to give the benefit of the doubt when public figures make their dumb mistakes, I can see why someone whose position is Governor, would want to be on the lookout for anyone with negative intentions to have access to their lives. Unfortunately, this just doesn’t exist in today’s world. Even if he was to have blocked anyone from his account, that person can just create another username, and still gain admittance. Supposedly he has multiple Twitter accounts, and the one in question is claimed to be for his personal use, but has 30,000 followers. Kind of seems like a shady move to block a couple of journalists when you have 30,000 people following you. Although I understand the method behind the madness, what he should really do is change his name to something not as noticeable as @GovernorPerry, for an account that’s claimed to be so personal, if he really wants to keep the stalkers away.
I completely agree with you in the fact that it is extremely ridiculous that Rick Perry thinks he can bypass journalists by creating several accounts and blocking specific people from viewing his Twitter. The extent of the internet is so large and with the increase of average people creating blogs, it is almost impossible to decide who is a journalist and who is not. Mayhill Fowler was a perfect example, if regular people are participating in journalism, how do politicians decide where and when to sensor themselves? And should they even sensor themselves? I think that your main idea was not very clear to the reader, maybe you should create more of a focal point. I think main idea was that transition from the old media to the new has positive/ negative/ indifferent effect on Politicians and the way we view them and it was expressed through examples but maybe it should be flat out written to the reader.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, the internet has spurred a new age in politics. Now citizens can hold politicans accountable with valuable resources from video recording, voice recording, pictures, etc all from our mobile devices. Pretty scare, but at least we are getting a somewhat more personal view of politicians and in some cases, a more accurate picture provided that the politicians also use the internet to interact with supporters and challenge the critics via blogs or other mediums.
ReplyDeleteLike all things,the technological advancements affecting politics has its pros and cons.Although I must say that politicians and having twitter accounts seem like a cool way to really know your politicians.I mean it can all be a front and with technology today politicians are on their best behavior at all times and may put up a tighter defense.About Rick perry's method of keeping away twitter followers as reporters is virtually impossible,either he deletes his account or eventually he runs the risk of a 15 year old high school student hacking his account.His privacy died as soon as he decided to run for office.
ReplyDeleteYour blog just once again made me realize how the world we live in changed. With the onset of internet, blogs and twitters that enable anyone to post and report as they please politicians have to be on guard every minute of their daily lives and if one second they are not their career can be ruined. Just like Mitt Romney's political career that you talk about. Instead of focusing on his campaign, he has to deal with the scandalous post that portrayed him as indecent and sleazy whereas in reality, it was just an accident.It makes me sad from a new each time I hear that such an advancement in technology is used for such negative purposes. On one side we are lucky to have an easy access to internet because we can be updated on what is going on in the world but on the other side the public figures lives are affected by this in such way that they have to live their lives thinking that they are surveillance at all times. This is a great restriction on their freedom.
ReplyDeleteI like how you introduce the topic and clearly connect it to the class' discussion. Your blog is clear and not tiring to read, perfectly long and well organized.
I think you add some very good commentary toward the end of the piece here on why Perry's effort to keep journalists away from his Twitter account might be futile and unethical in a way. In fact, that issue of the ethics of journalism in the Internet age seems to be a central theme throughout the post, from both the perspective of how reporters cover politicians and how politicians treat journalists. I would urge you to rewrite that first paragraph with that central argument about the ethics of web-era journalism made explicit, and take out a lot of the content that is not related to this topic at the start. These are short pieces of writing so you want them to be narrowly focused. Also, and this is very important, you MUST cite the sources for your information here -- so in the Romney and Clinton cases you should provide links to or make clear where they came from, as you did with the Perry case.
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