» Internet journalism takes on Washington

Internet journalism takes on Washington - and shows its power

March 21st, 2007

It is an old Washington technique to distract attention from a breaking story by dumping huge amounts of documents on the media at awkard times, hoping journalists would drown in it, and miss the story. But the work of a website, which got dozens of people spread across the country to read and analyse a set of documents, meant that such a move backfired on the Bush White House.

As the story broke around the Administration firing a group of attorneys-general for dubious reasons, they released late at night 3000 pages of emails, memos and other documents. Most ordinary journalists would not be able to cope, might be distracted from chasing the main story.

In stepped a blog called tpmmuckraker.com, which scanned and posted the documentation and called on their readers to tackle them. Within half an hour, there were 5o summaries and commentaries posted on the material. And they kept on coming.

It was a critical moment for citizen journalism - the move to use the web to enable ordinary citizens to participate as journalists - and once again showed the power of the Internet to mobilise people to scrutinise those in authority and power, and to contribute to journalism.

A full story and analysis can be found on the Media Channel. Since they have it first-hand, let me hand you over to them.

Entry Filed under: Anton Harber, Journalism, Online

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Anton Harber: Media

Professor Anton Harber directs the Journalism and Media Studies Programme at Wits University. He is former editor of the Mail & Guardian.
Full bio

Daily newspaper sales, South Africa
(Ave sales Jul-Dec)
1960 - 681 053 (Population 17,3m)
1970 - 723 566 (22m)
1980 - 803 229 (27,5m)
1990 - 1 214 396 (35,2m)
2000 - 1 117 886 (44m)
2006 - 1 600 000 (47,3m)
2011 - 1 310 000 (49m)

(Sources: ABC and nationmaster.com)

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“The (Incwala) ceremony is cloaked in secrecy and marks the (Swaziland) king’s return to public life after a period of withdrawal and spiritual contemplation. Among its highlights is a symbolic demonstration by the king of his power and dominance in a process involving his penetration of a black bull … But last year’s selected bull, according to a recent account from a whistle-blowing Incwala initiate, objected strongly, and threw off Africa’s last absolute monarch.” - Some surprises in this (un-bylined) account of Swaziland politics in Southern African Report

“When the Great Zucchini arrived that Saturday morning, Don had no idea who he was. Frankly, he didn’t look like a great anything. He looked like a house painter, Don thought, with some justification. He wears no costume. He was in painter’s pants, a coffee-stained shirt and a two-day growth of beard. He toted his beat-up props in beat-up steamer trunks, with ripped faux leather and broken hinges hanging askew.” - A classic of magazine profiling, by Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post.

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Diesploot: Of Frogs and Fractals, a public lecture at the University of Johannesburg, 4 August 2011

Troublemakers - The Best of South Africa’s Investigative Journalism (Jacana, 2101), edited by Anton Harber and Margaret Renn

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