partly on the question of whether bloggers should have the same rights as established journalists
if everybody gets it, it stops being precious. ?
to understand how we treat information in the United States, 1) remember we live in a democracy. (this is not socialism. people don’t get information equally.) and 2) consider supply and demand. (if they just give us the information freely, we’ll stop wanting it.)
PL “most people don’t even want information unless it effects them anyway–free or not. in fact, disinformation occurs more often and more readily available cos those who are in charge of dispensing information have personal motive–money, power (politics), etc. people also distort information unwittingly–colored by emotion or misinterpretation, or false memory.”
September 16th, 2008 at 8:35 am
Not only does this greatly affect our lives as a democracy, but this is also the basis for our market economy. Information is absolutely a commodity and you would be surprised (or not) by the premium charged for certain kinds of information. Look up Stratfor, a private intelligence collection agency based out of (where else) Texas.
September 16th, 2008 at 9:29 am
tangentially—Stratfor: “News is a commodity that you can get anywhere on the Internet. Situational Awareness is knowing what matters” “Stratfor tells its Members what events in the world actually mean.” “We discern what’s important objectively - without ideology, a partisan agenda, or a policy prescription.”
There’s something appealing about being told what’s important and why, but there’s something scary about choosing not to discern for oneself.