Carl
Azor
Professor
Cacoilo
Convergence
October
15, 2015
Mass
Amateurization
In Here
Comes Everybody, Clay Shirky introduces a new culture of convergence in
Journalism. The Web creates a new platform for the world to view journalistic
material all across the globe in a more efficient fashion. Not only does the Internet give readers or
consumers the chance to view media but also gives them the chance to produce
media as well. Shirky explains that with all the new technological advances,
the profession of “journalism” is being challenged. This ageless profession is
now being met with “mass amateurization”. Mass amateurization describes the
phenomenon in which common everyday people have the ability to produce sources
of without being a professional journalist. Even the definition for journalists
should raise the eyebrows of many people. Shirky presents an old definition of what
a journalist is from the Oxford dictionary. It states that a journalist is “a
person who writes for newspapers or magazines or prepares news to be broadcast
on radio or television.” (Shirky 71)
This definition does not explain anything about the profession at all. It only
marginalizes journalists to big firms and huge media corporations instead of
explaining what journalists actually do. Journalists’ main job is manufacturing
a well-educated piece of media/information for the people to read. Hopefully,
from that piece of media, the journalist is able to reach a broad audience.
Shirky believes that the outcome of
mass amateurization is going to broaden the attributes that makes one a
journalist. He states that journalists would be graded on a mere slope.
Basically meaning that Pulitzer Prize winners would still be regarded as on top
of the totem pole but newer media producers that create good media can be
considered as journalists as well. Mass amateurization allows everyone to have
a voice on any topic on a global scale. These huge media outlets are afraid to
cover or broadcast certain stories because of their “professional counterparts”
in journalism. The Internet is the new place where any human being can hop on
and share their intellect with the world. A tragedy can be going on somewhere
in the universe, and no one would have a clue about it until one brave person
clicks share on their laptop, tablet, or even mobile device. Media outlets can
look over these potential stories because their competition has not touched on
it or maybe even because they do not want the general public to know what is really
going on. That gives “mass amateurization” the power of convergence in journalism
that some “professional journalists” do not have the freedom to possess. Mass
amateurs now have the power to present information to a myriad of people
instantly. For instance, if the story is appealing and is also getting a lot of
feedback from the public, bigger and more formal media outlets will pick the
story up for ratings and to notify the general public (Shirky 64) . This not
only gives the television/radio show a boost in ratings, it gives the mass
amateur veneration for the work they have done. Most importantly it gives the
actual story the attention and media coverage it deserves on a national or
global scale. The Web is now the biggest media outlet and is also free to roam
on any given day and at any given time.
In Convergence
Culture, Where Old and New Media Collide, Henry Jenkins uses the term “fan
culture” just as Shirky uses “user-generated content”. Jenkins explains that
there is not a difference between the two. Jenkins, to make his point, utilizes
a girl’s name Heather Lawver to illustrate how fan culture can influence the
youth in a positive way. Heather Lawver was a 13-year-old girl who started a
blog called “The Daily Prophet” based on her love for the Harry Potter novels.
She acted as the managing editor for the blog. She and its users pretended to
write for the school’s newspaper for the school in the book (Jenkins 178) . Heather was
home schooled but this gave her the opportunity to meet other kids of all
backgrounds across the globe. It also served as a way to express her love for
literacy. The Daily Prophet also gave children ways to express what was going
on in their personal lives in a fantasy world while using literacy and their
imagination as a tool. Furthermore, it also erased the intimidation factor of
children speaking to grown ups because there was no face-to-face interaction.
People of all ages can communicate with each other in an educated manner and
debate without any repercussions. University of Wisconsin professor James Paul
Gee says that “affinity spaces offer powerful opportunities for learning
because they are sustained by common endeavors that bridge across differences
in age, age, class, race, gender, and education level, because people can
participate in various ways according to their skills and interests, because
they depend on peer to peer with each participant motivated to acquire new
knowledge or refine his or her existing skills, and because they allow each
participant to feel like an expert while tapping the expertise of others” (Jenkins 186) .
A lot of school systems in America are failing kids because they are not trying
to cater to the children interests. Now with these new technological advances,
children can learn on their own through many outlets on the Internet.
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| Photo of Heather Lawver's Daily Prophet |
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| Albert Einstein Meme which discusses the lack of personalization in education |
I feel that the future of the
traditional media professional is going to die down because of the Web.
Everyone is now able to cover the news and produce media however and whenever
they want. In the future, big media companies will not be the go to source of
information. People will no longer rely on radio and television to find out
what is going on. Social Media and blogs are replacing television and radio
reporting because everyone has access to their cellular device and can share
something in a millisecond. New authors and journalists can change the world
through media by producing media that has never been seen before. Hence, new
media producers will benefit from their works because they are pursuing true
journalism.
Works Cited
Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture . New York City: New York
University Press, 2006.
Shirky, Clay. Here Comes Everybody.
New York: Penguin Publishing Group, 2008.
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