Professionalization of New Media and Ethos of the Public Sphere

Abstract

The media industry has been revolutionised by the appearance of the Internet and other new technologies. In all respects this area is still under transformation as the ‘blogosphere’ comes of age as a social phenomenon. This can be seen as a new ‘venting’ space for political discourse and a force for social mobilisation, differing sharply from the old constraints of print media. In other regards, a new hierarchy is forming in this once wild and independent space; a professionalization of Internet journalism. This article carries out an analysis of the key tendencies in this sphere, including a consideration of the possible future scenarios for the commercialisation of participation in the public sphere, especially in in the new communication space of the Internet, including a special focus on web diaries. The analysis begins with a review of the theoretical frameworks covering the ideas of public and private sphere. This starts with the ideas of the Frankfurt School, moves on to the Post-modernist interpretation and then looks at how modern technology has impacted upon these debates. Statistics are also provided on the content of Internet media and the preferences of users. While a large part of blogosphere remains amateur, created by people as a hobby, the beginnings of a process of professionalization can be detected. This will, in turn, help return economic security to the media world and provide a surer set of skills to Internet journalists. The results of this study suggest that amongst the various trajectories for this professionalization the most likely remains the expansion of ‘community journalism’; where writers have more connection to their communities, political mobilisation and the formation of the institute of ‘virtual experts’. The questions of the transformation of the public and private space and the possible explosion of content in Internet journalism are thus explored.