Week 8: “Diary of a Webdiarist: Ethics Goes Online” – Margo Kingston

This excerpt is from Lumby and Probyn’s 2003 text Remote Control: New Media, New Ethics, which examines the ethical challenges posed by new media formats, technologies and audiences. In this chapter, Kingston, as Sydney Morning Herald’s chief of staff in 2000, discusses her investigation of ethical conduct online through her own experience managing a journalist weblog called “Webdiary”.

What started out to be a weekly online column on federal politics evolved into an online forum, giving Kingston a personal voice and encouraging the public to share their opinion on the representation of current news. Like other journalist weblogs, Webdiary could have been seen as a type of online ‘Letters to the Editor’ or ‘Your Opinion’ column. However, the instantaneousness of a weblog, where short or long commentary could appear instantly for all to see as soon as the ‘post’ button is clicked, superseded the tedious process of writing a “substantial” letter and sending it off to the editor’s mailbox or email account, with the unlikely prospect of it being published. This advantage of the weblog encouraged more equal and conversational dialogue between the journalist and the public.

The manner in which Kingston managed the site also gave the contributors power to control the balance of opinion that appeared on the weblog. By publishing most emails critical to her “in style and substance”[1], and refusing to maintain an equal balance of opposing views, Kingston created a space which truly represented the response and view-position of the contributors. This in turn established a strong trust between Kingston and her contributors, which maintained the high standard of objective, well researched response that did not aim to attack or devalue opposing opinion.

As well as analyzing her experience as a journalist blogger, Kingston approached various key-players in journalistic blogging in this investigation. Her findings suggested that mutual trust between journalist and reader, which would create a safe space for variety of opinion, stood as the main objective in ethical practice online. This led to a reconsideration of the heavier code of ethics which governed offline journalism. Although Kingston decided to place the Media Alliance Code of Ethics and Sydney Morning Herald Code of Ethics in a prominent place on Webdiary, she notes that the ethics code of journalism renders the reader powerless. The media’s defensiveness and reluctance of correction, “does little or nothing to improve the relationship between reader and journalist”[2]. She expresses discontent with this fact, and consequently applauds the opportunity for the public to participate through the journalist weblog.

However, there is a risk involved in creating a space that welcomes the public display of opinion without the discipline of censorship or editing. In minimizing harm, journalists are made to “treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect”[3]. This poses the question of if similar demands should be made on bloggers. Although there is no official weblog code of ethics, the news and resource site cyberjournalist.net created “A Bloggers Code of Ethics”, which references the Society of Professional Journalist’s Code of Ethics. When comparing the two, there is very little difference. This makes the assumption that any opinionated writing available to the masses is considered journalism. This is strongly contended by Rebecca Blood, who states that the greatest strength and weakness of a weblog is its status as being uncensored. She finds it unrealistic to expect bloggers to hold the responsibilities of professional journalists, and steps away from journalist’s code of ethics to create “Weblog’s Ethics”. Blood outlines six different points that should be considered, and goes into great detail concerning the use of multimedia, the method of making corrections in order to keep the corrected information visible, or typing out a URL of a website rather than linking it if the website could be of offence to someone. Although this list is very comprehensive, it is of interest to note that Blood took her inspiration from Dave Winer’s two criteria discussion of online ethics on his blog “Scripting News”, which merely emphasizes the importance of integrity when participating in ethical blogging practice.

It is the different characteristics, especially the instant nature and organic process of the weblog that does alter the moral and ethical dimensions of journalism on line. It is not only the censorship or adherence to the reliability of sources that separates journalism from blogging, but also the editing process undertaken by a paper publication that divides these two mediums. In general, the ethical dimensions of the weblog expand, where the reader is no longer powerless and is encouraged to critically analyse the information presented to them.

Questions

Is the growing skepticism pervading in today’s society going to increase the popularity of online journalism? Or will traditional media persevere to influence our perception of current affairs?

If the ethical system of blogging can be narrowed down to trust and integrity, can this also be applied to offline journalism in a democratic government like Australia?

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[1] Margo Kingston, “Diary of a Webdiarist: Ethics Goes Online” in Remote Control (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003) p. 162

[2] Kingston, p. 163

[3] Society of Professional Journalists: Code of Ethics: http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp [accessed 13/09/08]

Week 9 Reading - Verity

Hey Verity
Just wondered which reading you chose for week 9?
Thanks!

Menu-driven Identities

Lisa Nakamura argues that cybertyping forces us to choose our race from a list of defined categories. While this may be true in some portals, I think that this is an outdated perspective. Email is not the only aspect of the Internet to privilege cultural affinity over biology.

One example that most of us would be familiar with is Facebook. It allows you to add many applications and join multiple groups. You could thus create a hybrid identity for yourself of different races, and even include age, gender or location.

Digital literacy also allows us to create hybrid identities when, for example, searching Google. By using the correct search terms, you could find a specific identity. Alternatively, you could conduct multiple searches and synthesise the information in a way appropriate to your identity. These are just some of the challenges to menu-driven identities...

Tute 7: “Ruminations on Cyber-Race” Summary and Questions

Jerry Kang’s article, “Ruminations on Cyber-Race”, explores three potential ways of dealing with the construction of race in cyberspace. The article defines race as a social construction which is further complicated when it is represented in cyberspace (also a social construction). Kang’s article begins with a disturbing anecdote, in which he chose a black avatar in an online game and was subjected to a wave of racial slurs and hatred, highlights the existence of racism in virtual environments and leads neatly to Kang’s first area of exploration-the abolition of race in cyberspace.

The article discusses the concept of abolishing race and racial identification in cyberspace as a means of eliminating racism and subconscious racial prejudice. However Kang goes on to argue that such a move (which is highly unlikely) is insulting and damaging to those who identify themselves through their race. Asking people to silence their race is in turn asking them to silence a part of who they are.

The second option explored is that of integration, which Kang treats with relative optimism. The article discusses the potential for cyberspace to break down geographical and racial barriers. Kang notes that within virtual communities, people are drawn together by a common interest. He states “In real space, because residential segregation cuts across income, rich white folks do not live next door to rich black folks. In cyberspace both groups will congregate in virtual communities”. Although he is opposed to the silencing of race in cyberspace, Kang proposes that participants in online communities do not initially disclose their race-in turn minimizing racial assumptions and presumably fostering interaction between members of different races.

The third approach, transmutation, encourages members of virtual communities to adopt a different racial representation as a way of challenging racial constructs. This approach could be beneficial as it could provide users with an insight into prejudices faced by members of a different race (as evidenced in Kang’s online gaming anecdote). Conversely, however it could prove detrimental as ignorant users may enforce prevalent racial prejudices and stereotypes. Kang comments “I might intentionally play Amos & Andy-like blackface, acting as an ignorant buffoon speaking “jive”.
Cyberspace can facilitate interracial interaction however Kang’s article highlights that isolating racial prejudices and stereotypes of the real world from virtual environments is a complex task to which there is no one set answer.

Questions:

Do you believe that racism is more overt in virtual environments rather than the real world? Why do/don’t you think this is so?

To what extent would withholding ones racial identity assist in the interaction between different races?

Of the three approaches outlined in Kang’s article which do you believe would be the most effective in minimizing racial prejudice and facilitating interracial interaction?

Computer Joke!

Hey all!

I jus was sent this email joke about computers, and considering how we talked about embodied computers last week.. just thought I'd share this. Haha :)

(I hope this is allowed!)

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A SPANISH Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English,nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.' 'Pencil,' however, is masculine: 'el lapiz.'

A student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?'

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups ,male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether computers should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the feminine gender ('la computa dora'), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

(THIS GETS BETTER!)

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ('el computa dor'), because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

The women won. (:

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Have a great week ahead ya'll!

Hong Kong Cyberculture: A Case Study by Amy Lai Tak-yee

i will be discussing Amy Lai Tak-yee's essay on cyberculture in Hong Kong, as examined through the online community 'ICERED'.

Tak-yee presents a compelling argument about how users of ICERED were able to voice racist, sexist and homophobic ideals, commonly to the point of blatant slander and abuse, because of its nature as a virtual space. The concept of 'cyber-democracy' is explored in regards to the idea of freedom of speech - which the creators of ICERED (Tim Lam and Kenny Lam) advocated.

"Your English Sucks" explored the fact that in Hong Kong, being able to express oneself eloquently in English indicated their higher education and social background. There was a focus in this section on whether individual IceRedders were 'local' or 'not local', with 'not local' being synonymous with having a higher intellect. This section demonstrates the marginalization in ICERED in regards to class.

The section titled "The Unbearable White-ness of ICERED" flagged the fact that Hong Kong is "not a very racist place in the sense of the whites, who are regarded as more superior", however, racist rantings are indeed found in ICERED. The author argues that this may be due to the fact that ICERED is an English-language site. I found the argument put forward by IceRedder 'RATMAN' regarding the peripheral vision of the Chinese absolutely ludicrous, and a perfect illustration of the narrow-mindedness of individuals. Tak-yee's argument is that race is able to be conveyed to the virtual world because an individuals perspective on racial issues will more often than not indicate their race. For example, RATMAN is assumed to be a white racist.

Sexism also exists within ICERED, highlighted in the thread "Men are after sex, women, after money." It is my opinion that the anonymity of the virtual world allows sexism to flow more readily, as individuals are not held back by the restraints of social etiquette, and instead allowed to take a leaf out of RATMAN's book, and engage in ridiculously offensive arguments, often without any actual evidence to back up their claims (such as his claim that Chinese women have the lowest IQ of any other Asian country).

The third issue dealt with in this article is that of homophobia on ICERED, as shown through the thread "Homosexual on ICERED". Claims that homosexuals 'harm our children' and are 'sick' or 'sordid' indicate the ignorance of homophobes. ICERED did not censor discussions on homosexuality, and allowed discussions such as that of 'E-rayzor' on 'rimming'.

i agree with Tak-yee's idea that marginalization occurs online like it does offline. The fact that people are able to hide their identities means that they do not have to take responsibility for their opinions, and therefore are more free to express their racist, sexist, or homophobic attitudes to the point of obnoxiousness.

Finally, the ICERED article illustrates the fact that events in the virtual world can impact the real world. Examples of this include voting of actual people for titles such as "party animal of Hong Kong", "Most Eligable Banker" and "Most Beautiful Woman in Central." Also, there are examples of individuals in the virtual world organising get togethers for other virtual participants in the actual world, meaning that online 'celebrities' can meet their online 'fans' outside the constraints of ICERED.

All in all, i think that Tak-yee presents a compelling argument on how marginalization exists in the virtual world, through the use of ICERED as a microchasm. The sexist, racist and homophobic hostilities present within this online community indicate that the virtual world cannot be entirely seperated from the actual world, as personal views of class, and race, as well as background and education all contribute to how one presents themselves and their ideas in online communites.

Workshop Four: Menu driven Identities

2. These profiles emphasis the ‘hard’ facts about someone, a photo, their age, location, height/weight, ethnic background and smoking and drinking habits. There’s only a brief quote at the top, to give the reader any indication whatsoever of the personality of the person behind the profile, the rest is purely someone’s physical characteristics as if that’s all that matters for both the reader and all the user who made the profile, when they are looking for a date. Despite being an online dating service, Lavalife still treat physical prowess as singles’ priority, with more abstract concerns (such as personality) that are difficult to place into a drop-down menu secondary.


4. While I’m not sure whether any of these websites are inherently racist, I do think that race is certainly a neglected issue. For example take Second life, its “default” avatars are severely restricted. I think this limitation, is more based on individuality in general, rather than racism in particular. SecondLife works on the basis that you have to buy or create your way to being an actual individual, rather then giving them to you, increasing the amount of time you will play, and your attachment to your characters, rather then a deliberate 'othering' of any minority group.