Episode 8 - The one where Digitella discusses hyperlocal media

Chip McMac had been very helpful over the past week, trying to get Digitella’s laptop fixed but when she went to him early on Monday morning, her precious laptop was still broken.

“I’m sorry, Digitella, it's going to take at least another week to fix.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Digtella sighed. “I have a mobile phone for the time being,” she held up Tek's Nokia.
“I thought you were having trouble with it,” he said, remembering her moans about not being able to upload her blog entry.
“I’ve finally got the hang of it. It isn’t that hard. In fact, I’ve been using it to work on my latest entry and it’s going well,” she said.
“What you blogging about this week?"
“Hyperlocal citizen media sites," Digitella said, trying not to notice Chip hacking at her laptop’s hard drive.

“What are hyperlocal citizen media sites?” he asked.
“They are community-based websites that publish current news, events and issues that are relevant to a particular community or neighbourhood of people.”

“What does that have to do with the citizen journalism thingy you are supposed to be covering?” Chip asked.
“The content is produced completely by the people of that community. They write the articles, upload pictures and video. They start debates through forums, and blogs and can discuss issues online through discussion boards,” said Digitella. “The idea comes from principles suggested by the Habermasian public sphere – citizens are not seen as passive consumers of news, but active participants. This site allows people to share their ideas.”
“Even me?” Chip asked, cheekily.
“Yes, even you,” Digitella smiled.

“What’s so important about these hyperlocal sites?”
“It has to do with democracy. A report I read argues that society has become more and more disconnected and that is why there has been a decrease in democratic participation. People aren’t reading national newspapers anymore because they don’t feel that what is published is relevant to them and so they do not take part in political debates and discussions.

“Another great thing about these sites is that they can help traditional journalists like myself tap into community issues. We aren’t always able to see the problems and issues of a community.”

“Wow, sounds like you’re doing a bit of PR for these sites, hey?” Chip said.
“Yeah, well, there are issues with the sites naturally – ethics etc. But, that’s for a different blog,” Digitella said.

“Good luck with it,” Chip waved good bye with his screwdriver.
“Feels like I’ve already written it,” Digitella said.

tune in next week when Digitella visits the Sunday Times in Joburg