Community Media - Response

The article “Community Media: A Global Introduction” by Ellie Rennie presented an angle to self-expression as a result of community media, empowering the individual and community to be more creative and reflective of civil rather than political society. There was discussion about the intricacies of identity across economy, lifestyles and social factors, and I could see how today’s modern social media would ideally fit into the community media idea. Instead of the idea of one-versus-many or the individual versus the conglomerate, the viral and communal gathering of conversation affects individuality and relationships (189), and the thought that democracy is involved really makes one’s opinions in a social space feel important.

I thought that the issue of political correctness and the media’s central role in portraying politics was true. A lot of media showcases with politicians and government entities involve scandal, rhetoric and negligence, and it’s discouraging to see those with the political power be so unable to come to compromises for improving the well being of our country. People are frustrated at the lack of a voice to government, and I side with the fact that “feelings of political efficacy are at an all-time low” (191).

When I hear stories on the news about another political battle with the budget or a Congressional divide on how to handle the economy, health care or the many other issues affecting the United States, it really does place more responsibility on the civil society groups (as the article calls it) to carry the idea of democracy forward. The article defines different kinds of democracy like representative democracy as involving the politics we see today, but the conclusion at the end was clear to me: that new media technologies are enabling us to have a voice in ways never before seen, and that’s part of what makes social media exciting for me to be involved in. In my view, the crafting and freedom of self-presentation today has the capability to change the way the world works, and time will tell how effective the collective efforts of citizens like you and me will be.