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May 12, 2006
Public Broadcasters Need to Take the Digital Divide Seriously
Rebecca MacKinnon just asked the broadcasters panel at the Beyond Broadcast conference about their responsibility in bridging the digital divide. As broadcasters embrace the Internet and encourage the public to contribute their own content to public discourse, should they be concerned about the fact that the digital divide? If the elites in the community - ie, tech savvy Internet users - are the only ones that can participate in the new world of public media, is it truly public media?
David Liroff of WGBH and Bill Buzenberg of MPR both commented on the importance of having public broadcasters involved in public outreach to ensure that all people can have a voice in a community. Bill, however, questioned whether they should be the ones lobbying for greater Internet access for the poor. Isn't there a group better suited to be doing this?
Frankly, not really. We digital divide activists have been fighting what's generally a losing battle as far as policymaking is concerned. Very little attention is ever paid to the digital divide as far as the media is concerned, so there's little pressure for policymakers to deal with it. As public broadcasters embrace Web 2.0, it makes sense for them to engage the public and policymakers in a frank conversation about the digital divide, media literacy and what it means to be a 21st century citizen. Public broadcasting, at a fundamental level, exists to serve the public interest. Isn't bridging the digital divide in the public interest?
I'm thrilled to see people like Bill Buzenberg leading the way in demonstrating how the Internet can be used to get local citizens involved in shaping the way news stories get developed. It's an exciting time to be a Web-savvy public broadcaster, absolutely. But as I've said in the past, it ain't "We Media" unless it includes all of us. Part of the public debate must focus on what happens as disenfranchised populations with limited Internet access and IT skills fall further and further beyond. There is so much potential in utilizing the Internet to empower the voiceless. We need to talk more about municipal wifi and entrepreneurial efforts like Fon.com to get low-cost wireless into every community. We need to make sure that public media initiatives truly reflect the diversity of the community. We need to ensure that all people have equal opportunity to gain the skills to participate in public media. Otherwise, we're just taking the privileged upper middle class audience that has traditionally benefited from public broadcasting and giving them cool new tools to play with, leaving disenfranchised populations in the dust, wonder when they'll get their chance to speak.
tag: beyondbroadcast
Posted by acarvin at May 12, 2006 11:12 AM
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