I love the idea of citizen-driven media, but it also makes me a little sad, because if citizen media got the point, and mainstream media didn’t, what else are they missing?

ORIGINAL POST:

You talk in your book about what makes something “newsworthy.” One of the things you point out is “uniqueness.” Unfortunately, atrocities in Africa aren’t “unique,” or at least the average American wouldn’t tell you that. If you ask the average person to list what comes to mind when you say Africa, “genocide” would probably be on that list.

I’m not saying that’s right or good. I’m just saying that’s probably why no one talked about Kony. To the average person, that’s just… Africa. A video sensation on the other hand? We love those. It fits into so many of the other newsworthy-ness categories you describe.

It is unique. That sociology professor said there were more hours of video on YouTube in 2007 than 60 years of ABC programming. When one of them make it big, it’s out of the ordinary. It’s human interest. The video is so much of what America considers news worthy. Then the creator went off the deep end. Unique. And he wasn’t sending the money to Africa? Conflict.

And all this time, Africa is just… Africa. A problem so big that one well-marketed internet video probably isn’t going to help.

Of course, while social media are worthwhile routes to get messages like this one out, I am disappointed that this isn’t a part of the mainstream media’s agenda. International news, much like investigative reporting, has been cut. (It’s ironic that these cuts have been made in large part due to the loss of an audience who has moved to using online media only.) With financial cuts and staff reductions, as discussed by scholar John Vivian, journalism trends include less comprehensive coverage and less enterprise. These trends will only continue to diminish traditional journalism audiences. In my opinion, it’s a vicious cycle. I do really appreciate strong citizen journalism that’s resulted, though. Reports like “Kony 2012″ are giving credibility to non-traditional journalists.

I absolutely agree with Dr. Willis that the coverage surrounding the “Kony 2012” video this spring was largely focused on the wrong aspect of the story, and I would’ve loved to see more media attention on Kony himself and the U.S. involvement in Uganda. However, I believe that even stories about the video going viral drew added attention to the very worthy cause by inspiring more and more people to check out what so many others had already seen. The “Kony 2012” video told the story, and the news coverage just served to point people to it. The coverage almost added fuel to the fire, in that the video went viral, got news coverage, and then went more viral. The story of Kony was still being told; it just wasn’t the news media telling it. With the ever-increasing melding of traditional media and user-generated content, I have to wonder if this is perhaps a trend we’ll see more of in the future.

On a somewhat unrelated note, the Invisible Children organization has been in the news this week as well, as they just released their new “Move” video. I haven’t seen the full video yet, but there is a great article by Sangita Shresthova and Neta Kligler-Vilenchik at The Huffington Post titled “Moving Beyond Kony 2012” that discusses the implications of this piece. They say the video “once again asks young people to think differently about their political roles as citizens and activists.” I think this points to another often-overlooked benefit of the “Kony 2012” video: its impact on young people. The article elaborates on that benefit, saying, “In recent years, there has been concern about youth’s engagement in civic life. Other civic organizations have suffered decreasing membership because young people see them as stuffy and out of touch. Invisible Children is a powerful example of an organization which merges participatory culture with social change, allowing young people to find a civic voice that is fresh and hip.” If nothing else, Invisible Children and “Kony 2012” inspired young people to care about what’s happening in the world. That’s something I witnessed first-hand in March when the roadies visited our school, and that’s something the organization – and the news media which played a role in it – can be very proud of.