Arianna Huffington Comes to Ithaca!

Tonight, Arianna Huffington spoke in Emerson Suites at Ithaca College. The co-founder of the Huffington Post gave her thoughts on the state of journalism and new media. One of the first points she made about the strengths of independent media is its tendency to present more than just the fact. Whereas many newspapers adhere to a strict inverted pyramid style, indy media sites aren't afraid to present news in other ways, such as with satire, video or dramatic flair.

She also applauded our continuously developing linked economy. She called it a "cause for celebration." Consumers of traditional media are passive, often picking up a newspaper and merely glancing at headlines or simply filling time. Independent media users, however, are active participants who follow links, investigate topics further, donate to causes, organize themselves around a political candidate or movement, or even donate to the reporting itself. "You consume new media galloping on a horse," she said.

Huffington also shared her thoughts on the decline of the print media. It was very refreshing to hear her shift the discussion from the future of newspapers to the future of journalism itself. While newspapers may be declining, what's more troubling for me as an aspiring journalist has been the subsequent decline of things like investigative reporting. Furthermore, as Huffington said, print media can never die out. Magazines, for instances, are popular with people heading to the beach, on a flight, or looking for a specific topic.

I think Huffington's strongest point came when she said the discussion is not about new versus old media, but instead about today's media versus yesterday's media. Regardless of their primary form of publication, all forms of media need an online footprint. Newspapers, magazines and broadcast stations all need to have a strong web presence that offers something their print or broadcast product cannot.

For more on Arianna Huffington, I recommend reading some of her blog posts on HuffPost. Her speech was great and I'm definitely glad I got to hear her speak here on campus.

Indy Media in Zimbabwe

Here's an article that I found pretty interesting: "Independent Media Still Struggling in Zimbabwe."The article discusses how Zimbabwe's new government had promised to process all media license applications, but had not issued any new licenses since the new government came into power eight months ago. Several people or organizations prepared to start publishing, but were not issued their licenses as they had expected.  Despite the fact that the government has not issued any new independent media licenses, the government has launched two more of its own newspapers.

I guess this reminded me to count my blessings - I am able to publish this blog. Anyone can start their own newspaper or Web site in the U.S., provided they have the capital and resources of course. It's truly unfortunate that there are places in the world that do not enjoy even a small amount of press freedom. After all, without the ability to inform the public about issues of importance, how can one expect injustices to change?

For more information on media in Zimbabwe, head over to this Web site. It has information about some of the country's state-run media outlets, a section offering assistance to journalists, and a history of media in Zimbabwe.

Facebook Asks, "Where do you Live?"

While browsing CNN, I came across this article, which discusses the perils of Facebook asking the seemingly simple question, "Where do you live?" While for many of us the answer is easy — just name a city and everyone probably knows exactly where you're talking about — for others the answer is less obvious. For instance, while Facebook considers Tibet's capital, Lhasa, to be part of China, most who live there reject China's power over them. Jerusalem, which we all know is a hotly contested area between Palestine and Israel, is only listed as part of Israel on Facebook. Cases like these are not unheard of throughout a world where countries like Pakistan, Israel, India, China and others have gone to war over disputed regions.

Without reading this piece on CNN, this entire issue never would have crossed my mind. Living comfortably in the United States, it's easy to forget that there are places in world where something as simple as your hometown is up for debate. Now, Facebook is forced to addressed this issue to make its content acceptable to people from all parts of the world. that mainstream media wouldn't dare to touch, much less dive into wholeheartedly. It shows that the media — mainstream and independent outlets alike — must adjust its coverage to include all factions of its audience, even when dealing with something as conventionally simple as the question of where one calls home.