5th estate in china-2012
DESCRIPTION
Presentation for a Preconference for the 2012 Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association (ICA), Phoenix, Arizona, 23 May 2012, of a paper co-authred with Sun Huan, and Weiwei Shen.TRANSCRIPT
The Semi-Sovereign Netizen: The Fifth Estate in China
Sun Huan, William H. Dutton, and Weiwei ShenOxford Internet Institute
University of Oxford
Prepared for a Preconference for the 2012 Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association (ICA), Phoenix, Arizona, 23 May 2012.
Irrelevant, Ineffectual, Clicktvisim
Inherently Democratic, Autocratic
Social Shaped: Reinforcement Politics
Enhancing the Communicative Power of Networked Individuals, Enabling a
Fifth Estate
Politics and the Internet
“[Edmund] Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more prominent far than they all. It is not a figure of speech, or witty saying; it is a literal fact – very momentous to us in these times.”
Thomas Carlyle (1831), Heroes and Hero-Worship, at www.gutenberg.org.etext/1091
The Fourth Estate
Press since the 18th Century - the ‘Fourth Estate’
Internet in the 21st - enabling a Fifth Estate
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The Fifth Estate
Enabling people to network with other individuals and with information, services and technical resources in ways that support social accountability in business and industry, government, politics, and the media.
Empowering Networked Individuals
Arenas: Networked Institutions Networked Individuals
News Online journalism, BBC Online, Live Micro-Blogging
Netizens, Citizen Journalists, Bloggers, Whistleblowers, Leaks, Churnalism.org, Hacking Blacklash
Democracy E-Democracy, E-Consultation, e-Voting
Obama campaign, Aung San Suu Kyi, Arab Springs, Anti-Bribery Websites
Education Online Learning, Multimedia Classrooms
Backchannels, Informal Learning, Rate My Teacher
Health and Medical NHS Direct, e-mailing safety alerts
Going to the Internet for health information, Sermo
Visiting Journalism Student: Sun Huan
OII Masters Student: Weiwei Shen
Three Case Studies in China
Blocking Xiamen Paraxylene (PX) Chemical Plant
Reporting on Gas Explosion in Nanjing
Challenging Travel Expenses of Guangzhou Maritime Court
Three (Exceptional) Cases
Blocking Paraxylene (PX) Chemical Plant in Xiamen, Fujian Province, 2007
Reporting of Gas Explosion in Nanjing, Jiangsu, 2010
Exposing Waste in Funding of Visit Abroad by Officials of Guangzhou Maritime Court, 2009
Eleven day study trip to South Africa, Egypt, and Turkey by Six Officials
Exceptional Cases
Key Problems Tied to Limits on the Press
5th Estate Changing the Scope of Debate (E.E. Schattschneider) – PX
Need for New Media Literacy and Training
Instinct to Control Media, Rumors – Gas Explosion (support for journalism training)
Build on Accountability - ‘Anti-Corruption’ - Travel
Some Key Themes
Reflections on the Fifth Estate in China