Independent Media

Journalism is no longer the tradition in-person reporting. Arianna Huffington’s Bearing Witness 2.0: You Can’t Spin 10,000 Tweets and Camera Phone Uploads shows just that. In 2017 where smartphones and social media are rampant around the world. These devices can take anyone anywhere. A reporter and citizen journalist can share updates instantly that show exactly what is happening. Huffington quotes New York Times columnist Roger Cohen who takes an outdated stance on new ways of reporting. He believes that to actually see what is happening one has to “bear witness” to actually understand what is happening. This stance is quite outdated and quite honestly does not make sense. We can all hear and see the same thing that is going on by the person who took the video. Yes, we cannot smell “the crime” or “feel the tremor in the air”, but we are still witnessing history take place. It is just miles away from the comfort of our homes.       Another wonderful aspect ...

When some of us think of Facebook we think of the seeing updates from friends and family. However, this social media outlet is doing something for the greater good of society. In Cairo, Egypt is where We are all Khaled Said came to life. The human rights page came to life after Khaled Said was taken out of an internet café and beaten to death in Alexandria, Egypt. It was believed that Said had evidence of police officers dealing with drugs. The officers denied it and claimed that he was involved with drugs. They also falsely claimed he died after swallowing a bag of marijuana. An article in the New York Times showed how police made the wrong decision in fabricating the account of Said’s death. Had this atrocity occurred without Facebook a simple press clipping would have appeared about Said’s death. The press clipping would have most likely taken the police departments statement and no justice would come about.   Videos and photos from the assault showed that they were ly...

With the accessibility of a smartphone, tablet or laptop a blogger can upload content in a heartbeat to an unlimited audience. This gives people the chance to give their opinion or dig into something that does not sit well with them. Washington Post reporter Howard Kurtz hammers this in “ After Blogs Got Hits, CBS Got a Black Eye. ” Minnesota Lawyer Scott Johnson made a blog post saying that documents CBS News used in a “60 Minutes” report on President Bush’s Air National Guard service were false. The post went viral and readers went into citizen journalist mode. Scott Charles, one of the readers who emailed Johnson attributes the success of bloggers in this case to one thing. "We've got a huge pool of highly motivated people who go out there and use the tools to find stuff. We've got an army of citizen journalists out there." Blogs like this one can get information out quickly because they do not have a gatekeeper such as an editor. Without this mis...

George Seldes took the news by the horns. The man took the Fourth Estate to the max with his investigations which no one would touch with a ten-foot pool. He was not afraid to cause a ruckus unlike the media of his time who were not taking their role to heat. They were not shining a light into the shadows of corruption. If a reporter is doing their job right they will be a thorn in the side of those in power. Seldes exposed those in power who were abusing their position. Bolshevik leaders had him kicked out of the Soviet Union while Mussolini had a hit out on him. This would mean that these leaders did not want the truth exposed. A reporter should never be in bed with a politician and instead should be like Seldes who showed them for who they really are even if it means risking your life. He went on to show how dangerous the tobacco industry is and the fatal impact smoking can have on a person. He was not afraid of publishing these findings, unlike mainstream newspapers. These...