According to Shirky, his sentiments are explained on the first page of analysis. “Our social tools remove older obstacle to public expression, and thus remove the bottlenecks that characterized mass media. The result is mass amateurization of efforts previously reserved for media professionals.” (Shirky, 55) The world we live in today is considerably different from the time Shirky speaks of. When it comes media in the 21st century, there is no one way street to receive information from. As individuals who participate in media daily we now are able to both consume and produce with today’s technology. The increasing upwards sophistication of the Internet, social networks and advancing mobile devices allows everyone to be professionals in their own right.
“A profession exists to solve a hard problem, one that requires some sort of specialization. Driving a racecar requires special training- racecar drivers are professionals. Driving an ordinary car though, doesn’t require the driver to belong to a particular profession, because its easy enough that most adults can do it with a modicum of training.” (Shirky 57) So this is where Shirky’s argument is flawed. If both professional journalist working for a legitimate news source and the blogger with over five thousand followers report the same story who is to say that one is more professional than the other? Both have done their due diligence as reporters. The old ideals of how a journalist is supposed to behave and function are no longer viable because media technology has transformed the average user to a viable opponent in the game of publishing news.
Shirky argues that the professional structure of journalism and news reporting will be falter by this new age of amateurization. To Shirky bloggers and amateurs diminish the value of an actual reporter. “ When reproduction, distribution, and categorization were all difficult, as they were for the last five hundred years, we needed professionals to undertake those jobs, and we properly venerated those people for the service they performed. Now those tasks are simpler, and the early roles have in many cases become optional, and are sometimes obstacles to direct access, often putting the providers of the older service at odds with their erstwhile patrons.” (Shirky 78) By this statement alone it seems that although Shirky is pessimistic about the future that journalism holds, he relays the optimism that the job can be done by more than the old model of an professional form the past.
In Henry Jenkins essay “Why Heather Can Write” he examines the future of media in general and how technology has be pushed to the forefront of education. Technology is no longer adapted to make things easier for adults, but it can be used to educate the youth and equip them with tools they need to succeed in the future. “All sides want to claim a share in how we educate our young, since shaping childhood is often seen as a way of shaping the future direction of out culture.” (Why Heather Can Write 177) in my experience media has vastly transformed the world around us. We can virtually be anywhere and be able to read about news from across the nation or right in our backyard. I find it incredible that through media outlets such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook that we are kept up to date about popular issues from anywhere from culture to politics.
In my opinion the future of the media professional has diminished. We no longer are at a period in time where we have to wait to watch the evening news or hear the late radio broadcast for news. It has come to a point where at a click of a button the world has been brought to our fingertips through Twitter and Instagram. Small news pegs have taken the place of long drawn out reports from media professionals. The world is transforming at a much faster place and I believe its for the better. From analyzing these two readings closely, it is obvious that both parties are skeptical about the future of both the professional and the younger generation. But as both readings come to a close it can be determined that both Shirky and Jenkins believe that just because the role of the few has taken a backseat, doesn’t mean the job should be taken lightly. “They are active participants in these new media landscapes, finding their own voice through their participation in fan communities, asserting their own rights even in the face of powerful entities, and sometimes sneaking behind their parents back to do what feels right to them. At the same time, through their participation, these kids are mapping out new strategies for negotiating around through globalization, intellectual property struggles, and media conglomeration.” (Why Heather Can Write 216)
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