Decentralized Journalism platform
I've been thinking of how to operate an anarchistic journalist/media collective for awhile now, and one thing I've been thinking of is how the Mastodon protocols could potentially work for news media.
So much of our problems as a society are related to the centralization of journalism and new media. Sites like Mastodon allow for getting information out there, but they are still social media at their core and that can be somewhat limiting for longer more in-depth news. I think there's a real space for a similar platform, expanding on Mastodon's protocol for the purpose of journalist collectives.
A lot of independent journalists already network and self-select into collectives. However, they either have to strike it out on their own or interface with one of the centralized platforms to get their message heard.
A Mastodon-like news platform could allow groups of journalists to form a producer network, and users could have a space to aggregate their independent news. It could still incorporate various payment methods to support the groups, decided upon by the groups themselves. That alone is a big part of why I think Mastodon is lacking for journalists, as they have to link to third party sites for funding.
Essentially I'm imagining a decentralized form of something like Medium, with its systems specifically designed to hedge against the influence of monolithic organizations.
I'm curious what others think, does this have legs to stand on? Is it already out there somewhere or is it unnecessary?
#Journalism #Decentralized #ActivityPub #Mastodon #News #Media #Anarchism
Decentralized Journalism platform
I think journalism's big problem at the moment isn't so much about access, centralization, or any of that, and is more about an apparently nearly universal disinterest in providing accurate reporting.
When I hear reporters being interviewed about reporting, and when I talk to reporters in person, there is always this attitude that puts accuracy secondary to activism, one that lets conscious or unconscious biases roam freely.
THAT's why journalism has lost so much credibility in recent years. Readers just get turned off by reporting that they see for themselves to be flawed.
Until that attitude undergoes an evolution, meh, it doesn't much matter how the opinion pieces marketed as real news get transmitted.
Decentralized Journalism platform
@volkris
So much of that is influenced by the platforms, though. Centralized, ad-driven platforms tend towards volume, sensationalism, and fitting the owner's narrative. It's a large part of why things are so low effort, driven by flashy headlines and completely biased.
The most accurate reporting I see these days comes from independent, small media groups. They're not beholden to billionaire owners, they don't depend on being in the government's good graces, and they are able to control their culture better as a group, not being as easily co-opted.
Decentralized Journalism platform
The reason I think that influence is overstated is because I listen to journalists speak in panel discussions outside of their platforms and, like I said, talk to them in person occasionally.
The independent journalists I hear from seem to lack even more expertise in the areas they're covering.
So sadly I see two flavors of journalism: ill-prepared reporters who don't know what they're talking about vs educated people who know better but abuse their platforms to push their biases.
But we get what we click on, so *shrug*
@volkris
I think if those ill-prepared reporters have more of a platform though, they could get that experience and foster that skill. Because institutions aren't getting the job done right now, like you said even the knowledgeable that know better aren't doing better.
I also just think for readers it would be nice to have a place to go to and aggregate specific journalists or groups they like, rather than relying on larger institutions. Individual reporters might not be intentionally biasing their reporting, but the system is structured in such a way that encourages it and makes it easier. I'd like to create a system that does the opposite.