New Media in the South Caucasus: Engaging Publics

What to expectIntroductionPublic Media 2.0New Media: A ToolkitThe South Caucasus Current Media ClimateA Media Literacy ContextCountry Specific Overview of New MediaTranscaucasian Collaboration ProjectsCaveats of New Media for Change TheoryQuestions

Note contextPublic Media as foundation A South Caucasian giving this presentation may focus on drastically different things The convenience and limits of transnational projects

My IntroductionPeace Corps 2003-2005Fulbright Fellow 2007-2008

Public mediaPublics can disagree, however they form with a common central issueEngaging publics to solve problemsMedia as tool to create a dynamic civil societyCapacity to act on your own/ greater agency

Wikipedia definition of new media*New media is a term meant to encompass the emergence of digital, computerized, or networkedinformation and communication technologies in the later part of the 20th century. Most technologies described as "new media" are digital, often having characteristics of being manipulatable, networkable, dense, compressible, interactive and impartial

Wikipedia is new media“Manipulable, Interactive, Impartial”Manipulable: first edit in 2003 since then hundreds more on just one definitionInteractive: Anyone who wants to can contributeImpartial: Wisdom of Crowds“In part because individual judgment is not accurate enough or consistent enough, cognitive diversity is essential to good decision making.” -James Surowiecki

Public media 2.0Where public media meets new mediaEngaged publics using participatory networked tools to create changeThis has different manifestations relative to government systems it interacts with

OpenCongress

New Media: It’s What you Make of it Entertainment BusinessEducation Journalism Cross border Communication Peacebuilding Repression

It’s Also What you Use to make itNetworked participatory media is fundamental:BlogsVlogs User-generated photosSlideshare Forums Podcasts Social Networking sitesWikisMashupsAppsTwitterAnd more…

Public Media in the South CaucasusFrom Color Revolutions to donkeys

GeorgiaHistorically the most outspoken in the regionRose Revolution –Kmara and Rustavi 2‘Rally Round the Flag’ effect: War with Russia

“There is not a single nationwide TV channel in the country, which is not directly or indirectly controlled by the state. The judiciary is far from independent. The legislative branch is nothing but an obedient executor of the will of the government. The governing style of the president and his closest aides can be best characterized by the formula ‘we know best, so don't interfere.’ ”-David Kakabadze, RFE/RLFive Years After The Rose Revolution, A Functioning State

ArmeniaRussia’s closest ally in the regionThe disparate DiasporaRelations warming with Turkey

“2008 an 'unprecedented' year in terms of attacks on journalists and limitations on freedom of speech with 18 cases of physical attacks on journalists.”-The Committee to Protect Freedom of ExpressionReport on Violations of Media and Journalists Rights in Armenia

AzerbaijanBBC, RFL and VOA shut down January ’09Government currently involved in biggest ‘new media’ scandal in the South Caucasus everGov’t-run media consists of anti-Armenian rhetoric

Azerbaijan is ranked 169th out of 195 in Global Press Freedom House Index(Armenia, 151; Georgia, 128)Freedom House

Media literacy QuestionsWho created this message and what is the purpose? What creative techniques are used to attract and hold attention? How might different people understand this message differently? What values, lifestyles and points of view are represented in this message? What is omitted from the message?

New Media overview: Country specific

GeorgiaApprox. 1,500 blogs (tend to be mainly in Georgian) Generally ‘leisure’ content with some politics interspersedExamplesFace.ge –a Facebook Georgian styleCYXYMU – a digital refugeeKoxora –an instant starGiga Paichadze

Georgian Spring

ArmeniaHealthy Armenian blogosphere in Russia’s livejournal.ruWide variety of blogs in English, Russian and ArmenianExamplesArmeniapedia.orgOnnikKrikorian

UNZIPPED

AzerbaijanWide variety of languages in Azerbaijani, English, Iranian, Turkish and RussianSurprising amount of gov’t critical blogs in EnglishExamplesThe Donkey VideoArzu Gebullayeva

Women’s Forum

Transcaucasian public media projects

Global Voices Online

Threatened voices online

OVERCOMING NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES

Project Harmony’s DOTCOM

Alternative Start

Free Emin and AdnanTransmedia: Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Vlog, YouTubeSouth Caucasus Unification: Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijani consensusMass media coverage: NY Times, WA Post, Reuters, Reporters Without Borders, BBC, Global VoicesNew media sparked censorship, new media used to protest censorship

Facebook hate groups*Certainly using new media tools, but is this public media?

challengesCatalyst of change vs. Opiate of masses?Authoritarian deliberationSlactivismLack of access (digital divide)Not in a vacuumLack of institutionalism

Questions?Questions?MicaelBogarCenter for Social MediaSchool of CommunicationAmerican Universitybogar@american.edu