“Shame on us if we don’t take the steps needed to feed knowledge to our democracy”

Our democracy? What country do you live in? Pay attention the next time you recite the Pledge of Allegiance. We live in a republic. If we really lived in a democracy, Al Gore would’ve been elected president back in 2000 (popular vote).

I find it amusing how mainstream journalists go on that we need newspapers to protect “democracy.”

If I may, here’s some added perspective I hope may be useful:

Much of the discussion about media and journalism is about institutions and their relationships with citizens. Yet if we think about it, part of the problem of journalism and media is “the institution” itself as an exclusive/meritocratic agency rather than an inclusive/democratic system.

The answer to that problem is in the very architecture of the Internet as not institutional, but as peer- and community-driven. Let me propose that while it’s useful to talk about journalism institutions, one mustn’t neglect *the actual practice of journalism itself* — as undertaken by an empowered citizenry. This includes working journalists who are indeed citizens before they are part of any institution.

As David Cohn says, it’s a process, not a product. It’s that process — that PRACTICE — of journalism by individuals and communities, more than any institution, that defines the opportunity of open, transparent, inclusive democracy in the era of the World Wide Web.

Thus, I encourage you to consider three factors that profoundly affect the practice of journalism by citizens and communities, whether they happen to be part of institutions or not:

- Standards of practice (best practices/quality control)

- Access to resources enabling practice (material, financial and informational)

- Access to networks (to disseminate coverage and related discourse)

How do institutions influence these factors? What other means of social organization — co-ops, associations, affiliate networks, etc. — can leverage these factors positively on behalf of transparent, inclusive democracy?

Thank you for pushing the dialogue forward!