New Media Puts the Plural in Pluralism
In the past media has functioned in a one-to-many environment where one broadcaster or publisher was able to communicate information to a large population. The technological development of the Internet has turned this decades-old model on its head, creating an interactive forum where one can communicate with many just as easily and economically as one or many can communicate with one or many.
This revolution in relatively inexpensive, broadly available technology has created opportunities for democracy to flourish in ways the founding fathers could never have imagined.
Historically, the privileged groups with access to resources have been the ones to unite politically to achieve their goals. Thousands of lobbyists have taken to the Hill on a daily basis, paid by a variety of well-funded groups and associations, to wine and dine legislators for one cause or another.
The average American has been largely left out. The trip to Washington was too far, a letter writer didn’t think one letter could make a difference or state or national representatives seemed too intangibly distant.
Inexpensive access to the Internet is slowly changing this view.
Flash protests against the war in Iraq hint at the Internet’s power to enable large groups to come together to support one side or another of a conflict. MoveOn.org unites like-minded individuals across the country to band together to raise funds and awareness for a preferred candidate. Our Land , an animated political cartoon , traveled across the world and back in hours, becoming a media phenomenon that instantly transformed its creators into CNN celebrities.
New forms of pluralism are emerging where it’s possible for the average person to grab the world’s attention and share his or her message.
This revolution in relatively inexpensive, broadly available technology has created opportunities for democracy to flourish in ways the founding fathers could never have imagined.
Historically, the privileged groups with access to resources have been the ones to unite politically to achieve their goals. Thousands of lobbyists have taken to the Hill on a daily basis, paid by a variety of well-funded groups and associations, to wine and dine legislators for one cause or another.
The average American has been largely left out. The trip to Washington was too far, a letter writer didn’t think one letter could make a difference or state or national representatives seemed too intangibly distant.
Inexpensive access to the Internet is slowly changing this view.
Flash protests against the war in Iraq hint at the Internet’s power to enable large groups to come together to support one side or another of a conflict. MoveOn.org unites like-minded individuals across the country to band together to raise funds and awareness for a preferred candidate. Our Land , an animated political cartoon , traveled across the world and back in hours, becoming a media phenomenon that instantly transformed its creators into CNN celebrities.
New forms of pluralism are emerging where it’s possible for the average person to grab the world’s attention and share his or her message.
