New Individual Mass Media (Mass Self Communication)

The lack of objectivity was briefly seen as negative, but those days are over for good. Mainstream media no longer hide the views of their owners, which employed journalists must promote, or they align themselves with the views of the dominant political party (as seen in the previously discussed issue of alternative billboards in the Fourth Republic). An example of ideologically committed media is Murdoch`s ultra-conservative Fox News, which won over conservative viewers in the U.S. by supporting the war in Iraq.

There are undoubtedly other examples. Moreover, media can select which facts to present and control the access of specific political options to mass audiences. Thus, as Castells writes, to appear in the media, one must begin speaking the language of media - a particular jargon, a distinct dialect. The question of opinions ceases to matter, as everything is reduced to the simplest and strongest media messages - images. According to Castells, the simplest image is the face. So, we see a contest of personalities where opinions no longer matter because we vote on a like-or-dislike basis, with TV channels subtly telling us whom to like by selectively choosing messages and shaping the context in which a politician appears (see Telewizja Trwam or TVN 24, among others).

This is where mass self-communication enters the picture. As Castells writes: "Over a billion people worldwide use the internet, and nearly two billion use mobile phones. Two-thirds of the Earth`s population can communicate through mobile phones, even in places without electricity or landlines. The explosion of new forms of communication happened almost instantly. People introduced their own systems: SMS, blogs, Skype. P2P, or Peer-to-Peer, allows for sharing all kinds of digital data."


With new tools that allow us to communicate freely on a global scale, we can pressure politicians, publish our critical voices, and finally feel that we are the media. Social movements coordinated and spread through new technologies are described by Howard Rheingold in "Smart Mobs." Castells adds examples like the communication of alter-globalists, who, through the Indymedia network and other channels, reached mainstream media. He also mentions the demonstrations in Spain following the Madrid attacks, which successfully changed the government and its policy toward Iraq.

Examples can also be found in Ukraine and the Paris riots. At last, we can act politically outside the mainstream, beyond the narrow options presented to us. We can express dissent, construct our own solutions to problems, without joining political parties accepted and invited to televised programs. We can also better organize our actions and have real, lively discussions outside the rigid frameworks we’ve been trained to accept.

Thanks to new media and communication channels, a true civil society is emerging - a concept I once eagerly discussed under the term "blogalization" (mocked by some), which was meant to counter Bauman`s negative portrayal of globalization. Mass Self Communication is a broader term, more complete and more clearly explaining these new possibilities. To conclude emphatically, I’ll use Castells’ own words:

"In times when formal, rigid democracy is in serious crisis, when citizens have lost faith in democratic institutions, what we are witnessing with the explosion of Mass Self Communication seems to be the birth of new political forms. Although it’s too early to say what they will look like, one thing is certain: in the field of communication, a struggle will unfold that will reveal a new diversity of technological means. Essentially, it is the same struggle that has existed since the dawn of humanity. It has always been about freeing our minds."

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Source: hiperblog.blogspot.com, September 14, 2006
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