Blogging Underreported Stories and Breaking the University Bubble At a time when everyone (including mainstream media journalists) seems to have a blog, what role can blogging play in the creation of news media alternatives? How can we push beyond the often nasty and narcissistic world of the “blogosphere” and employ blogging in the service of progressive social change? How can blogging help students deepen their education, break out of the university bubble, and become public intellectuals? Using their experience in creating their own university-based independent media project (The Weave), the leaders of this workshop will present models for investigating underreported stories, promoting media literacy, and building critical global citizenship through blogging. Workshop participants will identify underreported stories that interest them, discuss the reasons behind the lack of coverage, and brainstorm about how those stories might be investigated and shared with the public by ordinary citizen-bloggers. Special attention will be played to the university as a site for building diverse, multi-generational communities of investigative bloggers.
Blogueando historias sub-informadas y explotando el globo universitario At a time when everyone (including mainstream media journalists) seems to have a blog, what role can blogging play in the creation of news media alternatives? How can we push beyond the often nasty and narcissistic world of the “blogosphere” and employ blogging in the service of progressive social change? How can blogging help students deepen their education, break out of the university bubble, and become public intellectuals? Using their experience in creating their own university-based independent media project (The Weave), the leaders of this workshop will present models for investigating underreported stories, promoting media literacy, and building critical global citizenship through blogging. Workshop participants will identify underreported stories that interest them, discuss the reasons behind the lack of coverage, and brainstorm about how those stories might be investigated and shared with the public by ordinary citizen-bloggers. Special attention will be played to the university as a site for building diverse, multi-generational communities of investigative bloggers.
The Weave seeks to contribute to positive social change and the cultivation of an informed citizenry by providing critical perspectives on important stories, processes, and voices that are not receiving sufficient public attention. Originally created at St. Lawrence University and inspired by the example of projects such as War News Radio, Project Censored, and Dropping Knowledge, the Weave is a small but determined response to media consolidation (the concentration of more and more media power in fewer and fewer hands) and the failures of mainstream media to provide the depth of information and the breadth of perspectives that are crucial to a healthy democratic culture.
Contact Information
Website:
http://www.weavenews.org