lecture 42303

Lecture Notes, 4/23/03:

New Directions for Citizenship and Expression: The Internet
(Guest Lecture, Jin Park and students)

Characteristics of the Internet
1. Anonymity
2. Interactivity
3. Beyond geography
4. Online community ‡ Political community
5. Lower cost to participate in the public sphere
6. Lower threshold for self-expression of political opinions

Potential of the Internet
1. Active, participatory citizenship
2. Not only consumption but production
3. Undermines the centralized control of information
4. Reflects the range of views and ideas
5. Improve the level of civic engagement among younger generation

Limitations of the Internet
1. Individualistic rather than communitarian
2. More homogeneity than heterogeneity
3. Inauthenticity: misrepresent and lie
4. Internet news audience is smaller than that of the traditional media
5. Entertainment rather than political engagement
6. “Digital divide”: a class system based on (a) computer ownership, (b) Internet access, and (c) computer literacy that corresponds with social economic statuses

Issues about civil engagement among youth and the Internet
1. How to define politics (Buckingham)
2. The link between the political and the personal (Buckingham)
3. Technopolis? : Do technologies determine political culture? Examples:
www.generationvote.com
www.adbusters.org
www.fork.com
www.rockthevote.com
www.ohmynews.com

OhmyNews.com: A case of Korean Online Journalism
Success of OhmyNews in Korean media landscape
New York Times (Mar. 6, 2003)
“For many observers, the most important agent of change of South Korea from conservative to liberal has been the Internet. … In the last year as the elections were approaching, more and more people were getting their information and political analysis from spunky news services on the Internet instead of from the country’s overwhelmingly conservative newspapers. Most influential by far has been a feisty three-year-old startup with the unusual name of OhmyNews.”
Guardian [UK](Jan 24, 2003)
“The World’s most successful and domestically influential Internet daily”
1. 14 million daily page views (Korean population of 40 million)
2. Perceived Influence #6

First interview with the President-Elect “News Guerilla”: Citizen Reporter System
1. 41 full-time staff reporter: 20% contents
2. 22,580 citizen reporter: 80% contents
3. 10s: 9.7% 20s: 42.7% 30s: 33.2% 40s: 11.6% Others: 2.9%
4. Paid between nothing and 10$ per story
5. Discussion boards for every story
6. But the editing power still exists

Vitalization of marginalized voice
1. Virtually about everything but politics is the main theme
2. Liberal, progressive, voice in the conservative media atmosphere
3. Analysis and critique on mainstream news media
- Anti-Chosun movement
4. Translating Al-Jazeera reports to balance CNN-dominated reports on War in Iraq

Context for the success of OhmyNews
1. “The Internet is a reflection of the society that uses it, not the other way around” (Davis et al. p.21).
2. 70% households have the high-speed Internet access in Korea (world leader in the penetration rate of high-speed Internet)
cf. 50% of households have the Internet access in the U.S.
3. Young Koreans’ involvement in public sphere with democratic zeal
- 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup
- Anti-American Protests


		last updated: 4/28/03 Lecture Notes, 4/23/03: New Directions for Citizenship and Expression: The Internet (Guest Lecture, Jin Park and students) Characteristics of the Internet 1. Anonymity 2. Interactivity 3. Beyond geography 4. Online community ‡ Political community 5. Lower cost to participate in the public sphere 6. Lower threshold for self-expression of political opinions Potential of the Internet 1. Active, participatory citizenship 2. Not only consumption but production 3. Undermines the centralized control of information 4. Reflects the range of views and ideas 5. Improve the level of civic engagement among younger generation Limitations of the Internet 1. Individualistic rather than communitarian 2. More homogeneity than heterogeneity 3. Inauthenticity: misrepresent and lie 4. Internet news audience is smaller than that of the traditional media 5. Entertainment rather than political engagement 6. “Digital divide”: a class system based on (a) computer ownership, (b) Internet access, and (c) computer literacy that corresponds with social economic statuses Issues about civil engagement among youth and the Internet 1. How to define politics (Buckingham) 2. The link between the political and the personal (Buckingham) 3. Technopolis? : Do technologies determine political culture? Examples: www.generationvote.com www.adbusters.org www.fork.com www.rockthevote.com www.ohmynews.com OhmyNews.com: A case of Korean Online Journalism Success of OhmyNews in Korean media landscape New York Times (Mar. 6, 2003) “For many observers, the most important agent of change of South Korea from conservative to liberal has been the Internet. … In the last year as the elections were approaching, more and more people were getting their information and political analysis from spunky news services on the Internet instead of from the country’s overwhelmingly conservative newspapers. Most influential by far has been a feisty three-year-old startup with the unusual name of OhmyNews.” Guardian [UK](Jan 24, 2003) “The World’s most successful and domestically influential Internet daily” 1. 14 million daily page views (Korean population of 40 million) 2. Perceived Influence #6 First interview with the President-Elect “News Guerilla”: Citizen Reporter System 1. 41 full-time staff reporter: 20% contents 2. 22,580 citizen reporter: 80% contents 3. 10s: 9.7% 20s: 42.7% 30s: 33.2% 40s: 11.6% Others: 2.9% 4. Paid between nothing and 10$ per story 5. Discussion boards for every story 6. But the editing power still exists Vitalization of marginalized voice 1. Virtually about everything but politics is the main theme 2. Liberal, progressive, voice in the conservative media atmosphere 3. Analysis and critique on mainstream news media - Anti-Chosun movement 4. Translating Al-Jazeera reports to balance CNN-dominated reports on War in Iraq Context for the success of OhmyNews 1. “The Internet is a reflection of the society that uses it, not the other way around” (Davis et al. p.21). 2. 70% households have the high-speed Internet access in Korea (world leader in the penetration rate of high-speed Internet) cf. 50% of households have the Internet access in the U.S. 3. Young Koreans’ involvement in public sphere with democratic zeal - 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup - Anti-American Protests