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Discussion Membership
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Instead of the White House Press, You Envision What?Note: The discussion on PressThink continues to examine, if the White House press corps isn't up to the task, "What next?"] Ending "Instead of the White House Press, You Envision What?", Jay Rosen's favorite "Daily Show" interview moment was: Looking fake eager, Rob grabs his reporter's notebook and says "let's get started!" Then he tosses his pencil and notebook into the air behind him, and walks straight into New Journalism.What irony! Jay, himself, is not ready for it because, as he writes: The country loses when the President is not regularly and sharply questioned, and a daily session with reporters is part of good government. ... [T]he presidency itself is diminished without a interlocutor capable of challenging the President and getting better explanations, an answer to what's on people's minds.Jay apparently believes the way to convey news to the public is through the spontaneous image of yesteryear's video generation press conference. The one where the target is just as likely to be asked, "What do you think of the game, champ?" as "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" No, the press conference never quite has lived up to its dream. But do not fear. Because of blogs, it really isn't going to disappear much as it's going to evolve.
Blogs: Researching. Refining. Reducing. Reporting. Reflecting. Reexamining.Blogs improve on the press conference because the written word stays put on the page::
Blogs add new mechanisms of interactionThe presidential press conference and the daily gaggle will continue, but the next significant step, ironically will have to come from an administration willing to change its mind; willing to learn from its past and from others. That's right. Willing to make a mistake. The next significant step is to engage the public through moderated interactive weblogs -- moderated to control amplitude and velocity. When the administration takes the step, the major press that covers it will have to do the same. Imagine the White House press fed questions polished on blogs. Imagine them with an avenue for their opinions other than in their news articles.
Blogs can help us appreciate quality journalismIn the new journalism, clarity will be as admired as investigative journalism was 30 years ago, because it needs to be there every single day. Look atNational Debt Burden: Full History, National Debt Thermometer and international comparison, Rethinking the Debt Surplus, and Effective Tax Rates. Clear information, fairly presented, that limits unnecessary noise, and offers a solid platform for further discussion.
Blogs help engage decision-makingGovernment works best when there are "No Surprises". Furhtermore, leadership doesn't tell people where to go so much as inform them so they can decide for themselves. We can dream on, but in an effective information age, political advertising, as we know it, would atrophy -- as should the Republican Message and the Democratic Message.
But we'll need to inoculate people the better to participateThis puts great pressure on schools to develop tools for thought inoculate people to identify and deflect noise. In the Real value of Blogs, I wrote:Blogs galvanized grassroots political participation (the Dean campaign). Blogs make main stream media more accountable (CBS, ABC, CNN). But the real contribution of blogs to civilization will be their challenge to education. When it becomes evident how ill-prepared people are to carry on discussion, schools will be obliged to equip people with proper tools for thought that make effective discussion possible.
Therefore, instead of the White House press, you envision what?I envision an "Ah ha!" where, getting feedback from blogs, forward-thinking reporters realize that Whuffie isn't simply a Nielsen rating that can be earned by "gotcha" journalism. Because of that, I envision the administration cannot afford to ignore those reporters -- and no longer wants to. I envision the White House gaggle, the inter- and intra- party struggles, and the race towards civilzation to go on.[Macro error: Can’t call the script because the name “commentIt” hasn’t been defined.] [Macro error: Can’t call the script because the name “commentIt” hasn’t been defined.]
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