David Versus Goliath

One of the core attributes of the digital media ecosystem is that it is decentralized. Where traditional foreign desks operate as hierarchical organizations with management, editors, and levels of journalists, the digital media world can sometimes look like the Wild West. This can leave citizen journalists more vulnerable to repressive tactics, including the increased use of digital tools by governments seeking to stifle speech. One group working through these questions is 140journos, a network of Turkish citizen journalists who are seeking to counterbalance the country’s censored national media. Columbia University communications Ph.D. candidate Burcu Baykurt explores what 140journos and others are doing in the new digital space, and what threats they–and more traditional correspondents– face from governments.