The Limits to Civic Journalism

2017 ◽  
pp. 88-107
Keyword(s):  
Civic Journalism

Deepfakes, misinformation and disinformation and authenticity infrastructure responses: Impacts on frontline witnessing, distant witnessing, and civic journalism

Journalism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 146488492110606
Author(s):  
Sam Gregory
Keyword(s):  
Fake News ◽  
Technology Infrastructure ◽  
Civic Journalism ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Synthetic Media ◽  
Media Manipulation ◽  
Societal Dynamics ◽  
Implementation Data ◽  
Detection Technologies ◽  
Key Questions

Frontline witnessing and civic journalism are impacted by the rhetoric and the reality of misinformation and disinformation. This essay highlights key insights from activities of the human rights and civic journalism network WITNESS, as they seek to prepare for new forms of media manipulation, such as deepfakes, and to ensure that an emergent “authenticity infrastructure” is in place to respond to global needs for reliable information without creating additional harms. Based on global consultations on perceived threats and prioritized solutions, their efforts are primarily targeted towards synthetic media and deepfakes, which not only facilitate audiovisual falsification (including non-consensual sexual images) but also, by being embedded in societal dynamics of surveillance and civil society suppression, they challenge real footage and so undermine the credibility of civic media and frontline witnessing (also known as “liar’s dividend”). They do this within a global context where journalists and some distant witness investigators self-identify as lacking relevant skills and capacity, and face inequity in access to detection technologies. Within this context, “authenticity infrastructure” tracks media provenance, integrity, and manipulation from camera to edit to distribution, and so comes to provide “verification subsidies” that enable distant witnesses to properly interpret eye-witness footage. This “authenticity infrastructure” and related tools are rapidly moving from niche to mainstream in the form of initiatives the Content Authenticity Initiative and Coalition for Content Authenticity and Provenance, raising key questions about who participates in the production and dissemination of audiovisual information, under what circumstances and to which effect for whom. Provenance risks being weaponized unless key concerns are integrated into infrastructure proposals and implementation. Data may be used against vulnerable witnesses, or the absence of a trail, for legitimate privacy and technological access reasons, used to undermine credibility. Regulatory and extra-legal co-option are also a fear as securitized “fake news” laws proliferate. The investigation of both phenomena, deepfakes and emergent authenticity infrastructure(s), this paper argues, is important as it highlights the risks related  both to the “information disorder” of deepfakes as they challenge the credibility and safety of frontline witnesses  and to responses to such “disorder,” as they risk worsening inequities in access to tools for mitigation or increasing exposure to harms from technology infrastructure.

Civic Journalism

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanni Haas
Keyword(s):  
Civic Journalism

Civic Journalism in Practice: Case Studies in the Art of Listening

1998 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Willey
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Civic Journalism ◽  
The Public

Group listening techniques not only give the public a chance to be heard, but also help reporters and editors to understand controversial issues.

Sources and Civic Journalism: Changing Patterns of Reporting?

2002 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 853-866 ◽  
Author(s):  
David D. Kurpius
Keyword(s):  
Civic Life ◽  
Public Dialogue ◽  
Civic Journalism ◽  
Depth Of Knowledge ◽  
The Public ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
Research Studies

Research studies consistently demonstrate a disproportionate use of elites, males, and non-minorities as sources. Previous research demonstrated that only enterprise reporting altered journalistic routines and therefore improved source diversity. Civic journalism is a decade-old, foundation-driven effort to encourage journalism organizations to alter their coverage routines to better reflect communities and the public dialogue on issues. Civic journalism encourages greater depth of knowledge of communities, alternative framing for stories, and developing sources within layers of civic life (from officials to private individuals). This study of 1,071 sources in 184 television entries to the James K. Batten Civic Journalism Awards found that civic journalism improved traditional source diversity for women and minorities.

In Favor of Civic Journalism

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 118-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuck Clark
Keyword(s):  
Civic Journalism

THE LAST DAYS OF CIVIC JOURNALISM

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce Y. M. Nip
Keyword(s):  
Civic Journalism

scholarly journals From Pacific Scoop to Asia Pacific Report: A case study in an independent campus-industry media partnership

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
David Robie
Keyword(s):  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
Asia Pacific Region ◽  
Investigative Journalism ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Civic Journalism ◽  
Innovative Strategies ◽  
The Past ◽  
Current Affairs

Media convergence within the news and current affairs landscape over the past two decades has opened opportunities for competing newspapers, television stations and online publishers to form alliances to approach digital and editorial challenges with innovative strategies. The partnerships have often enabled journalists to embrace multimedia platforms with flexibility and initiative. This has fostered a trend in ‘gatewatching’ and a citizen responsive and involved grassroots media rather than legacy mainstream gatekeeping, top-down models. Such committed media attempts in search of investigative journalism accompanied by ‘public’ and ‘civic’ journalism engagement initiatives have also been emulated by some journalism schools in the Asia-Pacific region. This has paralleled the evolution of journalism as a research methodology with academic application over the past decade. Selecting two New Zealand-based complementary and pioneering Pacific digital news and analysis publications, Pacific Scoop (founded 2009) and Asia-Pacific Report (2016), produced by a journalism school programme in partnership with established independent media as a combined case study, this article will demonstrate how academia-based gatewatching media can effectively challenge mainstream gatekeeping media. Pacific Scoop was established by an Auckland university in partnership with New Zealand’s largest independent publisher, Scoop Media Limited, and launched at the Māori Expo in 2009. The article also explores the transition of Pacific Scoop into Asia-Pacific Report, launched in partnership with an innovative web-based partner, Evening Report. The study analyses the strategic and innovation efforts in the context of continuing disruptions to New Zealand’s legacy media practices related to the Asia-Pacific region.

scholarly journals Modern Trends in the Development of Civic Journalism on Russian Television

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 83-88
Author(s):  
L. P. Shestyorkina ◽  
◽  
A. R. Sabitova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civic Journalism
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