Mass Amateurization Takes Over Content Generation

Citizen Journalism Defined As Mass Amateurization: More Thoughts on Shirky

Clay Shirky’s book, “Here Comes Everybody,” frames the discussion of citizen journalism in the form of “mass amateurization” and makes note of the cataclysmic shift  in traditional gatekeeping theory for Communications Studies students and scholars.   Shirky takes on the fact that the traditional media gatekeeping function is evolving as the gate is “wide open” with millions of new citizen journalists producing content.  Shirky laments that newspapers and other traditional media outlets are caught up in the own paradigm and do not recognize the changing ecosystem that is occurring with the internet media forms.

While professional journalists traditionally filtered the news, now there is “no limit to those who can commit acts of journalism,” Shirky states and thus the paradigm shift is indicating changes for reportial privilege. Further computer-propelled ease of use to create articles, website content, blogs, videos and the like has created a ubiquity of content and in turn is forcing new paradigms in content transactions.  “The absolute abundance” diminishes the specialness of professional publishing. “if everyone can do something, it is no longer rare enough to pay for, even if it is vital.”

Shirky sets for a notion, “publish, then filter,” as a means to further understand the new media atmosphere. He states: “Mass amateurization of publishing makes mass amateurization of filtering a forced move.” He states that there is a confusion between broadcasting – one way communications  -- from one to many – and communications media, a form that stimulate a two-way flow of communications.”  While Shirky addresses a multiple of topic s in Chapter 4, I did not leave the chapter with a clear cut definition of how we are to “publish and then filter.”

The original gatekeeping was set for by Kurt Lewin and applied to communications studies by David Manning White. Now, it seems Clay Shirky is bringing the concept forward to the contemporary era and generating a new point of view by bringing the issue into the fore and attempting to reframe it.   I like Shirky’s ideas, analogies and examples. Further, I also see how is trying to weave “citizenship” and good works into his book by discussing on line collaborations and collective action.