Ian Tomlinson Presentation By Yasmin and Manan:

Ian tomlinson

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Are the media becoming more democratic?

Are the media becoming more democratic?

In today’s day in age the internet and blogosphere can now provide enormous opportunities for the expansion and increase of progressive journalism ideals in the United Kingdom and globally. Media theorist Stuart Allan celebrates the blogging that audiences use, commemorating the “extraordinary contribution made by citizens offering their first hand reports, digital photographs, camcorder video footage, mobile telephone snapshots or audio clips,” which is evidently a form of ‘citizen journalism.’ Clearly, the internet and blogosphere often appear to be fascinating when they serve to challenge the mainstream media as elements in social and political movements, which are just many of the examples of the use of We Media which make it more democratic.

Media theorist, David Gauntlett explains that when creating media in the past you needed large equipment, for instance, big recording devices, big camera’s and if you wanted to distribute it all you needed a big broadcasting company or movie studio which is not as easy as most people believed it to be as most individuals did not own these forms of equipment and could therefore not do it. However, these days we can produce and share media using inventions of digital convergence such as small, reasonably cheap devices, for example laptops, mobile phones and camera’s which can be used to record footage and then become distributed on sites such as ‘YouTube’, where the work of many thousands of directors is seen by truly millions of people where they manage to gain a wider audience. Additionally, he puts forward the idea that websites such as ‘YouTube, Myspace and Wikipedia’ are sites whereby content is provided by the user and is then distributed very widely by other diverse users around the world, however there is still of course competition from big media corporates.

Furthermore, according to publisher Morozov who recently published the book ‘The Net Delusion’ which discusses and outlines his scepticism of new media. He explains that social media is not a catalyst for social change and should not be credited for strengthening democratic movements in the media today. Instead, he argues that social media helps dictators and some governments by scrutinizing and oppressing the public even more than they already do. Nevertheless, he does not completely rule out the idea that new media technology promotes democracy but that new media has led to a sort of “cyber-utopianism”, that is, a world in which information nowadays rarely remains as private and governments now have the power to dominate citizens by constantly monitoring the content of their online interactions. For instance, according to an article which was published by the Guardian illustrating that “Twitter are now able to censor tweets in individual countries,” journalists explained Twitter is beginning to refine its technology so that it can censor messages on a country-by-country basis. They also announced that the censorship is likely to raise fears that Twitter’s commitment for free speech may be weakening. However, Twitter have responded to this, by releasing a statement saying, “we see the censorship tool as a way to ensure individual messages, or tweets, remain available to as many people as possible while it navigates a gauntlet of different laws around the world,” explaining and reassuring to their audience and users that Twitter will simply post a censorship notice whenever a tweet is removed. They explain how it is similar to what the internet search engine Google has been doing for years when a law in a country where its service operates, requires a search result to be removed.

Nevertheless, by referring back to Morozov he also acknowledges that sites like Facebook and Twitter make it easier for people to join campaigns, but he argues that it also makes activism more “trivial.” Morozov makes a good point here explaining that whereas being an activist in the past meant joining the front lines of a march, picketing, or staging “sit-ins,” in today’s day in age social media users may consider themselves part of a major social movement by either tweeting, blogging, or “liking” links, without necessarily having to leave the comfort of their own home.

However, thanks to the advancements in technology which has brought to us, the users, the internet and web 2.0, it has also brought to us websites such as ‘Facebook, Twitter and YouTube’ which appears to make media more democratic due to the fact that we, the users, are those who decide what appears and goes up onto the internet from first hand reports such as mobile phone footage, camera’s laptops and so on. Additionally, the internet starts to become more accessible and interesting when we as an active audience decide which footage we want to post and which of it will interest other internet users in our community, causing it to spread across the internet globally and therefore making it more democratic.

Clearly, this can be linked and applied to the music industry as music can now be made by anyone and music videos can be created by artists who have access to equipment where they can film and upload their work onto websites such as ‘YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.’ Evidently, in today’s climate it is no longer a problem for people to get hold of recording equipment to produce and record music and it is now far more easier for anyone to distribute their music and get it out there to people to try and create a buzz. The big music labels and record companies are no longer in control over what music is distributed out into the world as anyone can upload the music which they have created over the internet, which in the long run allows us to make comments and forward music onto others thanks to use of peer recommendation on websites such as Facebook, which can earn artists fans and if all goes well even a recording contract. Websites such as Myspace and YouTube have been huge in hand in helping young musicians find fame, such as Lily Allen who was spotted on Myspace and Justin Bieber on YouTube.

All in all, it is clear that social media has allowed the word of democratic movements and freedom of speech to spread far quicker than every before, yet the issue of unethical, government surveillance is becoming more of a concern. However, media today allows ordinary citizens to take matters into their own hands and allows them to communicate their ideas and thoughts openly and freely and I don’t know what is more democratic than this, so yes I do believe that the media is becoming more democratic in today’s society.

Media Questions from handout:

1: What is Chris Anderson's theory of 'the long tail?'


Chris Anderson published his theory and described the theory of 'the long tail' as a way in which the internet has transformed economics, commerce and consumption. Anderson's idea summed up in very convincing terms what has been happening over the last few years, that is, since broadband became available to consumers. Whereas in the pre-broadband era, companies and distributors were interested in blockbuster hits and best-selling products, however now there is a realisation that by adding up all of the niche consumption might amount to as much revenue as the units sold of the material. In other words, if you think about in spatial terms, on a graph, there is a longer flatter, low end of the market -  which can also be known as the 'long tail.'

Anderson explains the theory of the 'long tail' in his own words:

"The theory of the 'long tail' can be boiled down to this, our culture and economy are increasingly shifting away from a focus on relatively small number of hits (mainstream products and markets) at the head of the demand curve, and moving toward a huge number of niches in the tail. In an era without constraints of physical shelf space and other bottlenecks of distribution, narrowly targeted goods and services can be as economically attractive as the mainstream fare."


Additionally, the internet is bringing renewed life to millions of less well known books, albums and movies by having unlimited shelf space together with clever filtering, it has given raise to the 'long tail' of retailing according to Chris Anderson.

2. What does the theory of ‘the long tail’ mean for the music industry and to other areas of the media such as online television?


The theory of the 'long tail' raises some issues within certain areas of the media. The first issue which arises from this is that the more things you make available, the more people will explore the non-hits. The repercussion of this however, is that the sales of the most popular items can suffer. If 100 things are available, those 100 things will enjoy sales success. If a million things are available for sale, the 100 most popular things will still enjoy sales success. Nonetheless, a large proportion of the people will explore rather than consuming the hits, this creates a loss within the industry in general.

Yet, this may not neccessarily be seen as a bad thing due to the fact that as more things are made available online, the more the public will consume altogether. For instance, 'Amazon' sells more books than any other bookstore due to the idea that the site sells a larger amount of books than any other website.

The third and probably the most important aspect of the 'long tail' is that it provides not only greater potential for mass market retailers moving online by reducing the problem of shelf space but it is also a route to market for a wide range of niche products which may not have been made available by more traditional means.


All in all, the fact is that economics are transferred online. An online music retailer will never sell out of a record. They will never have to stop stocking an item in order to stock another. There is no reason for labels to delete catalogue and every reason to reissue everything. And the more easily searchable you make it, the more you will benefit at the business end.

3. What is Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams’ theory of Wikinomics?

Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams' explains how the theory of 'Wikinomics' a term which he invented himself referring to the theory and practice of harnassing mass collaborations. Wiki is a software which enables a number of people to co-edit the document on the internet and the first big implementation of a 'wiki' is of course 'Wikipedia,' which is an encyclopedia thats larger than Britanica and it's owned by nobody so it's constantly up to date and is also written in dozen of languages and it's developed by the many but it's as good as the one developed by the noble prize winner's quality. So 'Wiki' has now become a metaphor for something much bigger where large numbers of people because of the internet come together and collaborate to produce things and goods and services in society and if you can create an encyclopedia in that way with the issues on the table what else can you create and it turns out you can create about anything.

4. What are the five big ideas of Wikinomics and how might these ideas be applied to the music industry?

The five big ideas of Wikinomics which can be applied to the music industry consist of:

- Peering, which refers to the idea that products can be shared amongst peers. For example, sites such as Spotify and Facebook encourage sharing music with peers and are designed to be shared with several people creating a continuous chain of peer recommendation.

- Free creativity is a positive outcome of the free market. It is difficult to control the creativity of the web. However, a service called Creative Commons provides protection at the same time allowing people to remix material within limits.

- Due to peering, 'We Media' journalism and creativity, exemplifies how the media has become more democratic.

- The idea of thinking globally and embracing the globalization, ignoring all possible boundaries.

Music in the Online Age - New Upcoming Artist: Conor Maynard:

The video below showcases the official advert for MTV's Brand New 2012 Upcoming Artist Nominees, one of which is Conor Maynard who did win the MTV Brand New Artist Award and is the focal point of my research in to Music in the Online Age - New Upcoming Artists.

Music Industry in the Online Age: on Prezi

David Gauntlett's questions:

David Gauntlett Questions: on Prezi

We Media Questions:

‘We Media – Reading the extract from the Media Lens Website pick examples of how We Media has been used to address human rights abuses or has countered state surveillance and state violence by answering the questions showcased below’

“In what way do you think some of these examples of the use of We Media are democratic?”

In today’s day in age the internet and blogosphere can now provide enormous opportunities for the expansion and increase of progressive journalism ideals in the United Kingdom and globally. Media theorist Stuart Allan celebrates the blogging that audiences use, commemorating the “extraordinary contribution made by citizens offering their first hand reports, digital photographs, camcorder video footage, mobile telephone snapshots or audio clips.” Clearly, this is “citizen journalism,” that is, challenging the professional journalists and actually feeds into the mainstream media routines and begins to reinforce the dominant news value system. Evidently, the internet and blogosphere only appear to be fascinating when they serve to challenge the mainstream media as elements in social and political movements and these are just many of the examples of the use of We Media which make it democratic.

John Hartley explains how consumers need to follow him if they plan on making a radical transformation of journalism theory. You need academics and consumers to move away from the notion of the audience as a passive consumer of a professional product to see the audience as producers of their own work, this being either written or visual media which is produced by them. Hartley even makes reference to the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ where he states that the utopian-liberal believe that every single person has the right not only to seek and receive but to actually impart and communicate information and ideas.

Website ‘Coldtype.net’ in the United Kingdom is a site attempting to bring together many of the writings by radical journalists, campaigners and academics. Freelance journalist Dahr Jamail regularly reports from a critical peace perspective on the Middle East, while ‘Democracy Now’ is an alternative US station consisting of allied websites and podcasts which is run by committed to peace journalism, Amy Goodman.

Additionally, political activists can often double as media activists, for instance ‘IndyMedia’ which emerged during the “battle of Seattle” in 1999 when thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the World Trade Organisation and the impact of global free trade relations and were met by armoured riot place which had an impact on democracy as violent clashes erupted with many injuries on both sides due to this particular protest. In response to this, 400 volunteers, rallied under the motto “Don’t hate the media: be the media” created a site and daily news sheet called ‘The Blind Spot’ which spelled out news, photographs, audio and video footage and received 1.5 million hits in its first week. Today there happens to be more than 150 independent media centres in around 45 countries over six continents. Their mission statement says:

“The Independent Media Centre is a network of collectively run media outlets for the creation of radical, accurate and passionate telling of the truth. We work out of a love and inspiration for people who continue to work for a better world, despite corporate media’s distortions and unwillingness to cover the efforts to free humanity.”

“How does We Media provide a valid alternative voice to ordinary citizens?” Give examples.

According to media theorist John Hartley, “Journalism has transferred from a modern expert system to a contemporary open innovation, this being from ‘one to many’ to ‘many to many’ communication.” In this question we can identify how this redefinition of journalism can incorporate many different forms of media activity and media voices into the alternative public sphere.

Firstly there is the role of radical, non mainstream journalists who clear show that they have a valid alternative voice to ordinary citizens, for example George Orwell is best known as the author of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four but he was also a distinguished progressive journalist who concentrated most of his writing on obscure, alternative journals of New Leader, Left Forum, Left News, Polemic, Progressive, Politics and Letters. From 1943-1947 he was a literary editor of the leftist journal, Tribune and as he wrote his regular “As I Please” column, he developed a close relationship with his audiences. This was a very crucial relationship which added to the flowering of Orwell’s journalistic imagination.

While Orwell’s realised mainstream journalism was basically propaganda for wealthy newspaper proprietors, at Tribune he was engaging in the crucial political debate with people who mattered to him. They were an authentic audience compared with what Stuart Allan has called the “implied reader or imagined community of readers” of the mainstream media.

Other ways in which ‘We Media’ provide a valid voice to citizens it that there’s the role of radical intellectuals such as the American historian Tom Engelhardt. Other radical intellectuals famous in the blogosphere have included people such as the late Edward Said, Naom Chomsky, Norman Solomon, James Winter, Mark Kurtis and the recently deceased African intellectual campaigner and journalist Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem. In the United Kingdom, activists such as David Edwards and David Cromwell edit the radical media monitoring site which monitors the mainstream media from a radical Buddhist perspective and in support of the global peace movement. What is more, is that Professor’s David Miller and William Dinan are also part of the collective running ‘spinwatch.org’ which critiques the PR industry from a radical, peace perspective, again providing them a valid alternative voice.

Citizens and campaigners in the UK and US who upload images of police surveillance or brutality onto ‘Youtube’ or citizens who report on opposition movements via blogs, these being ‘Twitter’ and other websites in authoritarian societies such as China, Burma, Iran and Egypt can similiarly be considered participants in the alternative media sphere. Commenting on the role of citizen blogs during the 2003 Iraq invasion, journalist Stuart Allan claimed:

“…these emergent forms of journalism have the capacity to bring the bear alternative perspectives, contexts and ideological diversity to war reporting, providing users with the means to connect with distant voices otherwise being marginalised, if not silenced altogether, from across the globe.”