Citizen Journalists Usher in A Changing of The Old Guard
By James Fitzgerald
As I watch the hashtag “Obamagate” spiral upwards on social media – despite the hosts’ technical chicanery to the contrary – it really feels like the collective mind is fracturing into two distinct realities: one embracing the apparent clarity and diversity of revelations around their political and corporate controllers, and other the orthodox brigade who, if they look at all, are becoming irritated by the outrageous claims of this “right wing” and “lunatic fringe”.
As a former journalist on national newspapers, I have been privy to the relaxed
and comforting narratives about the world that pervade newsrooms. They are
always quite simplistic and universally accepted across the MSM. It makes life
easy, but dull. The only channels generally on view in newsrooms are the BBC
and CNN. It is to these broadcasters that the news editors will look to check
they haven’t missed a story before the final edition goes to print or they sign
off on the website for the night.
In my 16 years as a senior editor, I became a daily fulcrum point for matters
concerning markets, politics, lifestyle, economics and the arts. If you had
asked me which stocks to buy or who would be the next “It” girl or boy, I would
be able to answer with close to 100 per cent accuracy. The “news”, when you
spend enough time ingesting it, conforms to a cyclical and predictable routine.
That means that the world is either a very bland place or that the consensus
reality we live in is tightly controlled, and embraced earnestly by many
people.
