Accidentally on Purpose Blog

The BBC reports on a global survey that shows 40% of respondents ”said it was more important to maintain social harmony and peace, even if it meant curbing the press’s freedom to report news truthfully.”  That number is shocking to many folks in the West, which overwhelmingly favored press freedom over safety.  Roughly 70% of respondents from North America and Western Europe “put freedom first.” 

Reminds me of one of Shel Israel’s key observations in the SAP Global Survey: 

In cultures where society is emerging from monolithic governments, such as Russia, China, the former Soviet satellites, and Singapore, citizen journalism is on a rapid rise. In societies where a free press is entrenched, it is emerging more slowly. 

Yet, according to the BBC survey, the citizens of these countries put “safety first.”  What may be happening, in fact, is that citizen journalism is playing the role of civic-educator in countries where freedom — as Westerners define it — is a relatively new thing. In any case, citizen-generated news is generally trusted more in those countries and better positioned to win readers, whether they fear for their safety or cherish their freedoms.

Now, this is interesting.  The International Center for Journalists has awarded a Knight International Journalism Award to Egypt’s Wael Abbas, “recognizing his role in bringing controversial subjects to the attention of his country’s mainstream media and public.”  But the headline is that Abbas is a blogger, and he is the first blogger ever to receive this honor.  Here’s what usinfo.state.gov (a communications arm of the U.S. Department of State) had to say:

Created in 2004, Misr Digital [the blog] attracts an average 30,000 visitors per day and 1 million per month.  More significant, Barnathan said, the blog has forced the mainstream media to follow up on Abbas’ reports due to the large public reaction.

Abbas himself has faced arrest by Egyptian authorities, but the content he has posted on his blog is making a difference.  For example, a video he featured of two Egyptian policemen abusing a detainee led to a recent Egyptian court sentence against the officers, which Barnathan called a ?breakthrough? event for the country.

At the National Press Club, Abbas said the Knight Award is ?very prestigious ? and respected all over the world,? including Egypt, and he hoped the award will help raise awareness of his blog. ?It is not the best time for the media and the blogging community,? he said, since the regime is cracking down and trying to tarnish the bloggers’ reputations by accusing them of treason and acting on behalf of those outside Egypt.

What Abbas is doing is consistent with the role that journalism has always played.  But what’s noteworthy is the platform.  Now journalists and bloggers have the means to cover the big stories of our times.  And they are rewarded with the same honors, and exposed to the same dangers.