I think people still like to read their paperback novels and newspapers with breakfast. But the internet is best suited for presenting hybrid feature forms, which have the potential to bring readers or viewers closer to understanding their world from different perspectives. And, a fair number of news media outlets and new media sites have been doing just that – using the potential of Web 2.0 to show multiple perspectives worldwide in compelling new ways. While not everyone can travel frequently, most can get a glimpse of remote places on websites via multimedia presentations that reveal complex issues in a more tangible way than print. Web 2.0 is undoubtedly easier to grasp for people of our generation – That’s ‘Generation Next’ - but the point is not whether new media formats are more effective than print news media – they are clearly just different.
I live-blogged an event last week, at which Tony Burman spoke, and I was reminded of the need for a diversity of perspectives in our media. Burman, who heads up Al Jazeera English (AJE), spoke about the cultural diversity of AJE’s staff, and how they have a make-up that is as multicultural as people are in Canada. He explained that two of AJE’s goals are to bring the perspectives of the South to the rest of the world, and to tell truth to power. His vision was progressive and in his own words, he said, “We are moving into a post-American world, one defined and directed by many people… AJE in many parts of the world provides more coverage than all of its competitors.” Burman closed the evening stating, “It’s about freedom of expression… and understanding this complex multicultural world we are trying to make better. We want to welcome multiple perspectives to make democracy better.”
Until the channel is available in Canada, AJE is available online.
Burman’s call for multiple perspectives got me thinking about which other news media outlets are doing this kind of thing right, getting at perspectives from the rest of the world. I found a few notable examples:
Democracy Now! often features correspondents from abroad, and people from within media in the Middle East. One good example is a correspondent on the phone, live from Afghanistan in this piece.
In the world of new media photojournalism, the traditional constraints of print are no longer an issue. We can zoom in on images, and interact with text. With multimedia packages becoming features in their own right, we can bring viewers closer to far away places with a greater deal of immediacy. World renowned photojournalist James Natchwey used digital media in his new project (here) which he said the world needs to know about. After winning a TED Prize in 2007, he said, “I wish for you to help me break it in a way that provides spectacular proof of the power of news photography in the digital age.”
Another example of a well-researched new media piece that takes us to another region of the world, would be this one from the Globe and Mail, on the Drug War in Mexico.
And there are more examples out there, if one only searches Web 2.0 to find them. What might be more interesting is to figure out how we can interpret these new media pieces and define the dilemmas that we might come up against in creating them. Interactive technology has already arrived. What’s sometimes missing is a rigorous analysis. And, yes – my piece is a case in point – an example providing examples, but without very much analysis.


