CHAPTER 2, PART 5 of 8

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Part of the problem with the press is that as self-appointed “watchdogs,” journalists often believe that they are the most capable people to fulfill the role of society’s protectors – protecting us from ourselves.

It’s an embedded perspective, one with history and evidence to back it up. The First Amendment essentially guarantees the right to a free press. As societies become more democratic, the press, playing the role of watchdogs, influence government transparency. There is a symbiotic relationship: freer societies have freer presses, which in turn keep government in check.

However, technological advances have begun to alter this dynamic.

The watchdog role can belong to anyone with the means to transmit information about, say, corporate malfeasance. Media members fall into a historically protected structure with a typically guaranteed large audience, via television, print newspapers, news magazines and weeklies.

Today, citizen journalists are increasingly the news breakers. They document breaking news simply because they are where news happens, and they have the technology to transmit information to potentially global audiences via social networks.

Historically, the freedom of the press was mostly guaranteed to those who owned one. Now virtually anyone can share information online. As a result, the role of protected media is diminishing. Citizens now have more power to shape and influence news, and citizens who appoint themselves as journalists are receiving the same protections as traditional journalists. In 2009, for example, the New York Police Department issued press credentials to three bloggers who had sued New York City when they were originally denied credentials.

More and more, citizen journalists benefit from the same legal protections as news journalists. Jason Chen, writer for the popular technology website Gizmodo, bought a secret iPhone prototype and counteracted a claim that he was in possession of the phone illegally. Chen’s home was raided by law enforcement and his computer equipment seized after he published photographs of the phone online.

In the end, California shield laws and the First Amendment essentially kept Chen from facing prosecution for buying the phone from the two people who originally found it, after it was accidentally left in a bar by an Apple employee. Chen’s rationale for buying the phone: it was part of a journalistic investigation. This defense kept him from facing further prosecution.

Now available at Amazon in paperback, Smashwords and for the Kindle. Get a free review copy by emailing me.

Read Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6