Community Engagement

Recent natural and human-inflicted disasters, such as the Haiti earthquake and the BP oil spill, have emphasized the importance of up-to-the-minute information when catastrophic situations can change at a moment’s notice. In the Washington, D.C. area, there were none of the brutal consequences suffered in Haiti and the Gulf when a 3.6 magnitude earthquake hit at 5:04 a.m. today.

Yet there is much of the same urgent need to find and share information, and digital media tools have played a key part in providing the answers to area residents’ questions this morning.

When the Media Policy Initiative hosted an event Wednesday evening on local news and online media in our home base of Washington, D.C., the event was, for lack of a better phrase, a community affair. After an introduction by NAF Media Policy Initiative Research Associate Kara Hadge, NAF President and veteran journalist Steve Coll moderated an engaging panel discussion and Q&A session with four panelists drawn from all areas—both geographical and journalistic—of the District. However, the definition of a “community” in the D.C.

In the face of danger, human nature may dictate a fight-or-flight response, but mobile technology has created a new reflex: point and shoot. This week marks the 5-year-anniversary of the 7/7 bombings that shook London’s mass transit system, a tragedy that, in addition to its cultural and geopolitical consequences, helped formulate a new understanding of what it means for the world to witness the immediate aftermath of catastrophe. Cell phone photos taken by survivors—average citizens—have had consequences that few could have predicted: July 7, 2005, was one of the pivotal moments in the development of citizen journalism as a legitimate, continually evolving part of the modern media landscape. 

Guest post by Colleen Kaman

It’s become increasingly apparent that efficient, transparent public institutions require citizens who are able to navigate the complexities of a data-driven society. Last week, I attended two sessions that grappled with the need for more accessible, innovative data projects. The first, the “Data into Action” plenary, was part of the Future of News and Civic Media conference at MIT. The second was the two-day Law.gov: Putting It All Together workshop, the last of a series of brainstorming sessions exploring how to systematically “open source” the law. Both emphasized the need to replicate locally successful open data projects in new locations and broader contexts.

Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig was in North Carolina earlier this week on behalf of Common Cause, a national political reform organization with chapters across the country, to build support for his Change Congress campaign. His work and that of his host organizations in Raleigh illustrate the power and necessity of watchdog institutions to maintain government transparency. At a time of great concern over the fallout of the U.S.

Given our recent discussions about the sometimes complicated relationship between government and technological innovation, several of us at MPI were curious to see what Digital Capital Week’s "Gov and Org 2.0 Day" had in store.  Many of the conversations at the panels I attended on Wednesday swirled around websites focused on public information that help to promote government efficiency. Information, information, information—both its quantity and ease of access—was the day’s constant refrain, especially in discussions of how user-friendly public information can enhance citizen efficiency.

Citizen journalism is no longer a hot new trend; anyone can start up a Word Press blog on their neighborhood news, capture cell phone photos that trickle up to mainstream media, or spread news internationally over Twitter. But while the multimedia tools for increasing citizen engagement have proliferated in recent years, there’s still no definitive answer for how best to employ them to effect actual change. Personal blogs or those with low readership still trail established news outlets in the “long tail” of Internet traffic, and the majority of government agencies and elected officials are still figuring out how to open up a dialogue with their constituents online. (Just see our comments on Twitter’s latest job posting for evidence of that.)

There are some occasions in DC that find others importing or manufacturing celebrities to make wonky Washington seem a bit trendier, but most of the time, the District is pretty comfortable with being relatively un-hip. For policy wonks and tech-savvy media mavens alike, though, this week might prove that there are some areas in which DC is, in fact, a cutting edge kind of city.

The event that has us blocking off our calendars is Digital Capital (DC) Week, a festival that kicked off on Friday to bring together members from the social media, public policy, traditional media and government sectors.