The digital revolution
power as a tool to control the masses has been weakened by the new trend of ‘citizen journalism’, which has seen the individual change from a passive consumer of news to an active player. Journalism’s power as a platform for propaganda is being eroded. The internet is international: websites often prove to be beyond national governments’ control. Throughout the Arab Spring, successive regimes tried to use their traditional methods of playing down incidents through state ‘journalism’. However, these efforts were increasingly discredited in the face of citizen reports. In Syria, state television may say what it likes about ‘cleansing areas of armed terrorists’ or in Libya, Gadaffi may say what he likes about ‘youths on drugs’, but to no avail: video, photography and eyewitness reports across the internet undermine this traditional propaganda. While there was little direct resistance to the Nazis from the populace in the 1930s, any that was discovered could relatively easily be stamped out: printers and typewriters could be seized, books and pamphlets burned. It is much harder for tyrannical regimes to control access to the ideas, thoughts and records the internet offers. 37 The 15th century saw the invention of the printing press: one of the most significant developments in history, which altered forever the path of civilization and also created the modern concept of ‘journalism’. This began a long process of bringing literature down from the world of academia and the church to that of the common man. And with literature came a political consciousness and awareness. A series of inventions continued this trend into the modern age: typewriters, 37 China has clashed several times with Google, for instance, in an attempt to ensure the search engine does not show results related to the Tiananmen Square massacre. Ultimately it is fighting a losing battle in the face of the Digital Age’s new brand of internationalism.
the unfolding of history. Journalism’s power comes from its unique union of ‘the first rough draft of history’ 34 and an ability to communicate this to a vast audience. What is captured in the phrase ‘the first rough draft of history’ is the immediacy of journalism: while the Romans are always history, Afghanistan will not always be journalism. However, this blend, which makes journalism, is no longer monopolized by professional journalists. The advent of the World Wide Web has changed the way in which events are reported. This is the digital revolution: the dawn of an age that is more than the sum of its parts, an age that is more than mobile phones, Facebook and laptops, but that has created an entirely new culture. 35 Individuals can now record their own history, with accessible and affordable technology. Further still, the means of broadcasting this new first draft of history is now available, from Twitter to YouTube. And individuals now can pass opinion on events, too, adding their own running commentary to a growing mass of voices. 36 With the end of the professional journalist’s monopoly over the reportage of current affairs, journalism’s place in history is changed forever. Journalism’s 34 A phrase, now almost a cliché, probably first made popular in 1943 by Alan Barth of the Washington Post, although possibly coined as early as July 1914 by George Fitch in the Lincoln Daily Star . 35 Truly global popular culture, while clearly not a creation of the Digital Age, has gained a power and influence unprecedented, thanks to new technology that allows worldwide fame and trends. 36 Social media are based on this idea of comment. Twitter is the ultimate embodiment of running commentary, and is full of private individuals giving their own opinions on what is happening around them, from the UK riots to the death of Steve Jobs to the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony. Besides Twitter, Facebook and YouTube - among others - allow similar commentary.
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