Ferenc Hammer
Strange but responsive bedfellows: single-issue activism and the media
Abstract
This paper is about the various ways old media is connected to newer conduits in communication, such as operating news portals, single-issue movements’ information bulletins, or private individuals’ blogs. As this case study suggests, century-old media principles (classic rules of newsworthiness, or just lust for fame) sometimes influence the latest forms of public information exchange on the web. It also seems that the liberation of the public sphere from gatekeepers’ heavy hands by non-professional newsmakers often produces highly spurious results, not to mention the democratic potential of the decentralized exchange of ideas in cyberspace.