Diversity via weblogs
: We hear a lot of talk about the need for greater diversity in media. And that can mean many things: diversity of staff, of ownership, of viewpoints, of sources. It’s an ever-hot hot button. See this AlterNet story urging people to “crack the walls of Big Media.”
Well, everybody, there is a new way to foster diversity and create media and you’re looking at it: It’s weblogs.
Look at the example of Iraq, where Zeyad and Salam and River begat more weblogs with more voices.
The same thing can happen here.
At Bloggercon, Oliver Willis pointed out that the audience was mostly white and male (and, I might add, pale and doughy) and so we need to be careful about viewing the voice of weblogs as representative.
Fine, then follow Zeyad’s example and get more people of diversity, no matter how you define that, to come and start a blog. Whether that is diversity of ethnicity or religion or political viewpoint or economic viewpoint or geography or expertise or education or nationality or age or interest or sexuality or whatever… get blogging.
If you have something interesting to say, it will be noticed (if not, not). And I’ll wager you’ll break into media sooner than via any other route. For Big Media is learning that weblogs are a new source of news, information, and viewpoints.
Weblogs are diverse.
