[IP] more on Coursey on IP
Begin forwarded message:
From: Jeffrey Kay <jeff@xxxxxx>
Date: September 23, 2005 7:32:53 PM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Cc: david_coursey@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [IP] Coursey on IP
(copied to Mr. Coursey)
Dave --
For me, the key statement in the article by Mr. Coursey is the
following:
"What I have described isn't a really big deal. While I can't prove
censorship didn't take place*it's always hard to completely rule out
any possibility*it seems like what we have is a well-intended
question that didn't need to be so widely asked."
Mr. Coursey seems to have difficulty with the concept of a large
conversation space and is asserting that it is journalism. Really IP
(and
other lists) are discussion spaces, places where people hang out to ask
questions, post ideas, and get comments. The fact that it's moderated
doesn't make it journalism; we that subscribe all agree to allow you to
decide what others might want to hear about. In this regard, we rely
on you
for this primarily because we assume you have some sense of what
others are
interested in and whether the participants on IP might want to
discuss the
topic. Or perhaps we just like the things that you pass along (are
you the
Rush Limbaugh of the listserv world?). Either way, we know what we are
getting by subscribing; no one on this list is under any illusions
that you
provide a news service like Reuters or AP. Except, perhaps, for Mr.
Coursey.
The wonder of the Internet is that we have the opportunity to have a
conversation with a few thousand interesting people. Our choice to
listen
to certain channels is no different than our choices of what groups of
people that we might listen to at a party; only on the Internet the
room is
bigger.
I will add one other comment, though, that Mr. Coursey should have
brought
up but didn't. The reality of the Internet is that old cartoon about
no one
on the Internet knows that you are a dog. When someone does make a
claim or
comment about something, they are in many cases unknown individuals. In
that regard, people are quicker to write things and pass them along than
they would be if they had to say them in person. This leveling of the
playing field sometimes brings out the worst in us -- we're too quick to
judge, comment, and say things that perhaps we shouldn't. That's not a
statement about editorial control, just about people and Internet.
IP has
fewer problems with this than most lists do -- generally you don't post
things from people who are completely unknown to you and I can't recall
seeing a post without a name. But it is a reality of the forum that
we use.
As such, before Mr. Coursey decided to attack "citizen journalism", he
should have asked himself this -- if we (IP) were all in an
auditorium with
you at the podium, would this question about NPR and Katrina have
been asked
by an individual sitting in the audience? My answer, after re-
reading the
original post, is "yes". And that test to me indicates the value of the
question and the appropriateness of the post -- well-intentioned and
widely
asked.
-- jeff
jeffrey kay | jeff@xxxxxx | aim jkayk2
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