On defending the #altwiki idea

LOVE LOVE LOVE this #altwiki idea a bunch of news orgs are planning: tmblr.co/ZRhcTyEyDfRv

— Ernie Smith (@shortformernie) January 18, 2012

@shortformernie Why do you LOVE LOVE LOVE it? Scab.

— Ron Mills (@O2ron) January 18, 2012

@O2ron Journalism is about objectivity and engaging stories. This encourages interaction on an important issue. #SOPA

— Ernie Smith (@shortformernie) January 18, 2012

@O2ron Big news outlets have to be objective. This allows for a balance between objectivity and informing the public.

— Ernie Smith (@shortformernie) January 18, 2012

@O2ron It’s not a newspaper’s role to play activist, so this is common ground. Don’t like it? Don’t take part.

— Ernie Smith (@shortformernie) January 18, 2012

One of the things that always gets me is the way that people always assume the worst intentions of mainstream media outlets, as if they’re large organizations who always think in terms of protecting their own vested interests, over the generally-more-accurate approach that it involves hundreds of people individually working for common goals. And last night, I pointed out how genius I thought the #altwiki idea was — as sort of a way for The Guardian, The Washington Post and NPR to avoid taking a formal stance on SOPA while still getting a chance to be active in the blackout off to the sidelines. I got some blowback from a few folks, but I’ll defend the approach heavily. It gets people engaged in the event (and thinking about the issues involved) without forcing the outlets to take a stance — allowing them to keep their objectivity. That’s win-win to me. — Ernie @ SFB