Can the Internet Properly Support Democracy and the Public Sphere?

Examining Citizen Journalism, Corporate Influence, and the Public Interest

By: Kevin Chao, Staff Writer

When you think about it, the Internet is an amazing tool. Connecting to a friend overseas has become instantaneous. Revolutions have been incited by tweets. Users are never trapped by their geography, but free to explore the online web. We go online for news, for entertainment, for conversation, and for information. You use the Internet to do your work, and leaders use it to run the world. It’s more than just media; it’s the backbone of a digital world.

The Internet’s potential influence raises an important concern: does the beloved Internet necessarily support the ideals of freedom, the public interest, and democracy? For many reasons, the immediate reaction is often “yes”. Social media has forever changed our ability to speak out, free speech is an online right, and the digital world provides us a voice in the global conversation.

Courtesy of ilamont.comv

However, at the same time, powerful brands and media conglomerates have vast amounts of online leverage, and can use the Internet to manipulate us. Many critics allege that online news sources have descended to delivering sensationalist and uncritical infotainment, whereas others suggest that advertiser’s expectations have undermined the potential of investigative journalism. How much influence do the media industry’s power-players have in the open web? Do media conglomerates use the Internet to further their private interests, and can users respond by capitalizing on the web’s potential to democratize our media?

The Internet is not a restrictive and authoritarian medium, nor is it the wonderful and free source that we often claim it is. In our increasingly digitalized world, it is crucial to at least consider the public interest, our democratic values, and our potential to shape our media. 

A Healthy Online Public Sphere?

In any thriving democracy, the people are given a chance to hear news, discuss it with others, and form positions. This is what philosopher Jürgen Habermas called the public sphere; he defined it as “a domain of our social life in which such a thing as public opinion can be formed”. While this public discussion may have previously occurred through newspapers and cafés, now the Internet can satisfy all of our democratic needs for information and conversation. Blogs, forums, news articles, and social media all provide new opportunities for citizens to retrieve and relay knowledge in the open web.

[pullquote]now the Internet can satisfy all of our democratic needs for information and conversation[/pullquote]

Our media hasn’t always been so free; in fact, six companies control 90% of all American media. These half a dozen media conglomerates – GE, News-Corp, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, and CBS – hold the lion’s share of media, distributing nearly all the news, movies, television, and music that us consumers receive. Though this concentration of power into six companies is the reality of the market, the centralization of influence in a democracy hardly suggests an open public sphere.

The media’s influence manipulates Canadians, too. For example, the day after 131 First Nations declared their disapproval of the Enbridge pipeline, the Vancouver Sun ran two front page stories about “Dog Rescuers” and “Problem Gamblers”; the next day, when one lone Gitxsan Nation native independently and incorrectly stated that his nation would accept a bribe, the paper’s front headline proclaimed “Gitxsan Supports Enbridge Pipeline”.  The media’s authority truly does impact public opinion and political discussion.

Has this excessive corporate influence breached online media? That’s a matter of opinion.  Most of the news we consume online still comes from sources owned by the same Big 6 who dominated the television age. Though the freedom of the Internet allows for citizens outside the domain of corporations to speak out, do individuals have the power or ability to shape the public sphere as much as media conglomerates?

Eric Lohman, PhD Candidate and Lecturer at Western University’s Faculty of Information and Media Studies, believes that the Internet does not necessarily promote democracy, but that it can be used as an effective tool. As he explains, the web has the potential to create an active online public sphere “by connecting citizens to the information that will help them make informed decisions” and “connect[ing] them to other citizens so that the issues can be debated and discussed.”

Citizen Journalism and Public Action

Author Bill Kovarik has noted, “political change […] is not only marked by a clash of classes or culture, but is often an outcome of changes in the way people exchange ideas.” Possibly the greatest attribute of the Internet is the online freedom that it affords users, allowing them to democratize global discussion by contributing to it themselves. Citizen journalism has revolutionized the way news is reported and stories are told, because the power to shape the public perception of events is no longer reserved for news corporations. In “Citizen Journalism vs. Traditional Journalism: A Case For Collaboration”, Corinne Barnes explains that traditional news media is similar to a monologue, whereas citizen journalism creates a dialogue that takes a life of its own, promoting reader engagement and a healthy public sphere of thorough knowledge.

[pullquote]the power to shape the public perception of events is no longer reserved for news corporations.[/pullquote]

Many analysts suggest that traditional reporting currently suffers from a lack of critical engagement. In their book The Business of Media: Corporate Media and the Public Interest, David Croteau & William Hoynes explain that traditional news media not only provide content for viewers, but also provide viewers for advertisers. Content such as news, therefore, must focus on drawing in consumers before providing strong material, resulting in the collision between private interests and the public interest. The trends of news broadcasters have shifted towards infotainment and snappy sound bites instead of thorough, thoughtful, and objective reporting. Citizen journalism, however, can avoid these problems because it is written specifically for the public interest and not for monetary gain. With diverse perspectives, active engagement, and no constraints, citizens can uniquely contribute to and democratize the public sphere.

In addition to citizen journalism, the Internet furthers public discourse through blogging, free access to information, photo-sharing, online forums, social networking, and more to come. The openness of the Internet allows people to change politics, and not vice-versa. Grassroots activism, social critique, and community-led initiatives have flourished online in a manner not possible before the 21^st century. From the Reddit community that saved a Kenyan orphanage to grassroots environmental activism in China, global initiatives – initiated by people – are possible thanks to an open, democratic, online public sphere.

Courtesy of throwthedamnthing

Online Pandemonium

One issue with the outbreak of citizen journalism, however, is that valuable voices are caught in a sea of intangible nonsense – a classic case of too many cooks in the kitchen. If everybody and their mother is interested in being heard, reputable perspectives that can actually present useful information are lost in the disorder. Additionally, with scores of untrained reporters comes irresponsible journalism. Barnes worries that “untrained writers may not understand concepts such as off-the-record material, attribution, balance, fairness and objectivity… They are not able to stand back from an issue and report the facts objectively, leaving the reader, listener, or viewer to come to his or her own conclusions.”

Journalistic credibility is at risk, to the point that Wikipedia has become a more popular breaking news source than the New York Times and the blogosphere. This lack of responsible reporting has led to an information overload, and an Associated Press study found that “[young media consumers] were overloaded with facts and updates and were having trouble moving more deeply into the background and resolution of news stories.” Too many voices, and too much nonsensical information, prevent citizens from being properly informed by reliable sources. At its best, citizen journalism can provide a truly democratic approach to news reporting; at its worst, however, an information overload can hinder reader engagement.

Corporate Control

In the chaos of an information overload, the voices that are heard overtop the commotion are the corporate news sources. Unlike your everyday blogger, established news broadcasters have credibility, funds, and the attention of consumers. The value of a well-known brand is more important online than ever before, as familiar names will attract readers and established news corporations have the means – specifically, money and influence – to draw in consumers.

Courtesy of Edgar Zuniga Jr.

Traditional news sources continue to dominate the media landscape, alongside the profitable practices they employ. Critics such as Croteau & Hoynes argue that proper informative reporting has been compromised by the pressures to appeal to advertisers and draw in viewers; this pressure has resulted in sensationalized, fragmented, and uncritical infotainment. In other words, educated decisions and discussions are hindered by news broadcasters treating viewers as consumers and not citizens. Lohman believes that “the Internet undermines democracy then by placing the interest of the market before the interest of democracy. And despite what many in the business community might like to imagine, the two are fundamentally incompatible.”

Citizens face the same dilemma from the pre-digital age: do traditional news sources provide us the means to a healthy public sphere, and with it the knowledge to properly support a democracy? If those same few media conglomerates have the power to shape public opinion, will their inordinate leverage prevent citizens from making well-informed decisions? Or can citizen journalism revive and democratize the public sphere, providing citizens a thorough understanding of news and the knowledge needed to engage the issues? 

The Media’s Role in a Democratic Public Sphere

The media play a vital role in keeping governments, the corporate sector, and the civil sector honest. The news and entertainment industries hold tremendous influence because media commodities – unlike tangible products – contain powerful messages that can change the world.

[pullquote]the Internet is a democratic medium that allows people – not just companies – to convey information and understanding[/pullquote]

The Internet, above all else, provides all citizens will an online connection and the opportunity to speak their mind. Though at times overwhelming, ultimately the Internet is a democratic medium that allows people – not just companies – to convey information and understanding through mass media. Lohman believes that the online public sphere is one of the Internet’s greatest assets that must be protected. As he explains: “If commercial forces are left to their own free will, then they will transform the web into another television, where we log on to simply consume the media that is produced by large corporations. We will lose the ability to produce things ourselves, we will lose the ability to seek out diverse, radical, or unprofitable content. We will lose the ability to speak back.”

Corporations still do have a greater say in news than individuals; after all, media conglomerates have massive sway, established brands, and impressive funds. Though corporate broadcasters may have the capacity to abuse their influence for private interests, they also have important qualities that many citizen journalists do not: namely, reliability, training, and credibility as a renowned brand. Traditional journalism and citizen journalism together both keep the online public sphere well-informed and (hopefully) objective. Learning from various news sources and speaking back to the online community will provide the knowledge and comprehension to act as an active citizen in the public sphere. Understanding, discussing, and voting all benefit from properly engaging with the media instead of uncritically consuming it. 

Kevin Chao is a staff writer who is always striving to work harder, act stronger, and call his mother more often. Kevin is at Western University studying Media, Information, and Technoculture, and in his spare time he often explains what the name of his program actually means.