Is the media more democratic as a result of new technology?
Tim O'Reily said that 'Web 2.0 was an attempt to re-brand the internet business'. In my opinion I believe the internet has completely been re-branded as a result of Web 2.0. One factor of the re-branding is the voice given to ordinary people through mediums of the internet such as social media sites. This has created a democracy on the web as there's more equality and voices heard from all kinds of people. Another factor is the revolution of user-generated content (UGC). This has allowed individuals to create media and be apart of the media by posting their views on blogs, Youtube videos and Tweets. Their content is now seen as being very important in society today. Citizen journalism has also played a huge role in the democracy in media. The web is now dominated by producers of media who capture their own news. This is often unedited and un-mediated, takes away power from gate-keeper in society. Rupert Murdoch was quoted saying,
"Technology is shifting power away from the editors, the publishers, the establishment, the media élite… now it’s the people who are taking control."
On the other hand, it could be argued that there's still a digital divide in media today. This is because big companies still make a profit out of the content of the users. They still create most of the Big Media and gatekeepers still decide most of the content in media.
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