A report claims that Irish citizens have only a “vague understanding of interactive media”, varying by age and access to technology. A research report commissioned by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) and carried out by the Dublin Institute of Technology’s Centre for Social and Educational Research (CSER) has made a series of recommendations regarding the development of public policy for media literacy in Ireland.

So how can our print media be said to be collapsing at the feet of the phenomenon that is online journalism? Levels of experience and awareness (in Ireland) with new interactive media were said to be “only an informal awareness”.

The report makes a series of recommendations, including the establishment of an Irish media literacy expert group to advise on definitions, strategies and new developments in relation to media literacy to keep up with this media crazed 21^st century.

 This revelation insinuates the continuing prosperity of the print media and indicates that the battle to the Media Revolution is not lost yet!

 The full article can be found here.

In his article journalist Jonathan Weber, examines how to use the situation to ones advantage rather than surrender our life time love of the traditional print news. NewWest.net, a company in which he is heavily involved began as an experiment, however quickly became successful.  “The editorial model relies on a combination of professional journalism, what we think of as semi-professional journalism and citizen journalism” he explains.

I found this an interesting article conveying a healthy reaction the the Media Revolution. Rather than admit defeat, why not join forces to create an ultimate news medium …be it print or on-line.

Speculation surrounding the disappearance of missing child, Madeleine McCann has again been brought to attention just days following the 2year anniversary of the missing toddler.

With Oprah Winfrey’s interview with the couple, Kate and Gerry Mc Cann, being screened this week I decided to take a look at the online attempts to help.

HFMC – Help Find Madeleine Mc Cann was the first page I encountered. Filled with information and pictures this site was set up on the 12^th May 2007 to raise awareness of the beautiful 3 year old girl who was abducted during a family holiday in Praia Da Luz, Portugal on the 3^rd May 2007. The site urges anyone with information, no matter how irrelevant, to come forward, by either leaving a comment or ringing one of the many helplines.

I found a more personal site at FindMadeleine.com, where Kate and Gerry contribute to the page, leaving regularly updated comments relating to any progress made. The site also contains a newly published picture of what the 6-year old Madeleine McCann may look like.

The Internet has and continues to play a huge role in the search for Madeleine and has made it possible for the campaign to reach people worldwide by maximising exposure. While the story faded from the news rather quickly online sources provided a social network for information to be dispatched and for the case to be kept alive.

This public service, ie. the breaking news site finds twitter updates relating to news items, “searching for the twitterers located closest to the event geographically, and treats them as quotes to build up a story of what is happening”. The primary result being a more personalised news experience.

It seems however that breaking news is not their number one focus. The site aims to build a close-knit social community with increased conversations about the world’s news events. These tweets will be supplemented with additional information and prioritised in acordance with eyewitness accounts and images submitted via TwitPic to add valuable weight to the story.

This is undoubtably a major progression in online news, which sees us one step closer to developing a “truly global news picture”.

The idea came into force folllowing the widespread use of Twitter during the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20th. Since then the site has prospered and is set to become a “go-to-news service” on a global basis.

One thing’s for sure “The social networking phenomenon is here to stay”.

The full article can be found here.

An overhaul of the English primary school curriculum is currently being explored by online news sites such as this story from the guardian. Tearing away from the instilled and core values of education the new system is to focus on media technology. Under the new curriculum “children will no longer have to study the Victorians or the second world war” but instead will become knowledgeable on areas surrounding modern technology in an era of digitalisation.

Children will be taught how to use twitter and wikipedia as sources of information while blogging and pod casts will become the norm for these pupils. Basically these children will be well prepared for the rising profession that is citizen journalism.

Aswel as the basic skill of hand writing and spelling, the children must gain “fluency” in typing and keyboard skills. Pupils must also be aquinted with the automatic spellcheck on a computer.

Undeniably this proposal is one of great prosperity in this media obsessed 21st century however it is not one without flaw. There is of course the possibility that children will become over-reliant on the internet. Despite this threat this story remains one of great interest. 

Twitter, facebook , the blogosphere, SMS and text messages were instrumental in this “peaceful demonstration”, which escalated to over 10,00 supporters.

The protests dubbed the “Twitter Revolution” by international commentators because of online involvement flared up after claims emerged that the elections which resulted in the return of the Communist Party to power were rigged.

So are these social network sites and modern technology to blame?

The full story can be found here.

Is Gaza receiving the help it requires in its hour of need and is journalism to blame?

In a live online interview hosted by Journalism.co.uk today Al Jazeera addressed this issue concluding that countries outside Gaza are unaware of the urgency of the situation and therefore are failing to seek help due to irresponsible journalism. The Western media as a whole has failed horrifically in covering Israeli-Palestinian conflict to an accurate content. He said “If people in the west understood what was happening in Gaza, in the West Bank, accurately, they would demand more from their governments”.

But is this a fair assumption to make? Can one really blame journalism for the depth of the situation in this war-torn country?

Online the crisis has been followed by leading wesites including the Guardian and the Irish Times. The Guardian in particular I noticed are extensively covering the illness and have posted an advertisement from the Department of Health highlighting the ways the flu can be caught, along with a swine flu information line.  

These online news sites are warning people of the inherent dangers of the deadly flu, which could in turn save lives. With new cases being revealed by the day the media are continuing their quest of raising awareness.

It’s estimated that only 5% of Iraqis currently have web access at home, due to ongoing conflict which has disrupted efforts to improve the service, despite many being familiar with the internet. Among these is anonymous blogger Salam Pax, whose online journals amidst the 2003 invasion exposed the going-ons in the country. The full story can be found here.

So will twitter bring Iraq to life? Only time will tell.

During the week I came across an interesting article on www.journalism.co.uk. The article accentuates a rising problem in the industry, one that has been belied by the progression of the phenomenon that is online journalism over the past few years. Kara Swisher, co-executive editor of technology news site AllThingsD, examines how too much emphasis is being placed on the delivery system, resulting in falling standards of quality in the content of material.

Following the Guardian Changing Media Summit, she provided a bate for this week’s internet content subject. She recognises that the current blogsphere contains many “crappy” rants made by clueless people, instead of real information. Rather than focusing on the medium the news will be delivered, be it online or print, focus on the content must be regained.

She recognises the need for future journalists to “move on from endless discussion about the means”. She adds, “Talking about the role of the internet is like constantly referring to the role of air travel, or electricity”.