Does social media and citizen journalism promote or discourage democracy and transparency in the modern world?

Directions – Actively read the sources indicated and write a reflection on the seminar question -
Is citizen-journalism and social media empowering or undermining democratization and transparency in the modern world?





1.Blog introduction:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/revolution-20-democracy-promotion-in-the-age-of-social-media/article564610



2. Read one of the following sources:




a) Introductory Level –



"Can Social Media Bring Democracy to the Middle East?" - Voice of America Blog, 2012.

http://www.voanews.com/content/will-new-media-bring-democracy-to-middle-east-100898544/124035.html

or "How the Middle East Uses Social Media in Four Charts"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/12/19/how-the-middle-east-uses-social-media-in-four-charts/



or -

b) Grade Level - "Annals of Change: Why the Revolution Will Not be Tweeted"by Malcolm Gladwell for The New Yorker. October 2010.





or-


c) College Level
"Blogs and Bullets: New Media and the Conflict After the Arab Spring." PeaceWorks/ United States Institute for Peace. 2012. Web. http://www.usip.org/files/resources/PW80.pdf



http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/12/19/how-the-middle-east-uses-social-media-in-four-charts/



note: this is a longer article, focus on any two or three pages from p. 5-20



And




3. "The Rise and Fall of Jeremy Hammond: Enemy of the State."by Janet Reitman. Rolling Stone Magazine. Web. December 7, 2012.
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-jeremy-hammond-enemy-of-the-state-20121207




4. Summarize the articles in a paragraph or two reflecting key ideas and details from all sources. Overall, what do these articles suggest is the answer to this blog’s framing question “Is citizen journalism and social media empowering or undermining democractization and transparency in the modern world? Refer to the US example, the Arab Spring nations mentioned in the PDF and the 2009 Green Revolution (Death in Tehran) in your response. Post two questions or comments that you may contirnute to an in-class seminar on Wednesday.