Paying attention . . . Yes, by simply schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported you can legitimately call yourself a citizen, an advocate for democracy.
Citizen Tip = Blogs link to connect you to knowledge
Jay Rosen of NYU and PressThink describes the ethic of the link used in blogs, connecting people to knowledge. This is the tool of the web - to inform without cost or consumerism messaging.
It seems to EYNU that the use of links is not understood in local news sources or familiar blogs. Indeed, very few who comment on news articles, letters or commentaries in the online press even consider linking to blogs, like this one, with video clips and commentary related to articles. Lisa Shaffer has been a notable exception along with several others.
Since blog readership should be growing exponentially, it is clear that blog readers and their friends may not grasp how the linking - the connecting people to information sources is done by individuals. But, people are learning how to follow links and return - how to find their way around and share information - without waiting for permission from a news outlet or official.
We are poised at the onset of the campaign season and time to take off the training wheels to spread information, ideas, events far and wide. In the next 12 weeks there will be more in Tuesday is Dues-day posting about journalism, the press because the standards have seriously broken down.
Most of all, a word of encouragement to all who intend to turn off the television and the media horse race of campaigns for entertainment rather than news reporting to reality where we live.
