Clay Shirky
explains what he terms ‘mass amateurization’, to
mean the lines between traditional professionalism and what it means to be an
amateur have been blurred. Without training or typical resources, average, everday
citizens are able to produce and publish content in a multimedia space. When
standard people have access to resources that were once reserved for a small
group of the population, the demand for the “professionals” is reduced. One can
argue the internet itself facilitated the use of mass amateurization, but the
content that was created for internet use is what really took the concept to
another level. Instagram makes everyone a photographer, YouTube makes everyone
a videographer, blogging creates natural journalists. Gone are the days of
having to sit in a classroom to receive years of education in order to have
access to these tools, now, anyone can do it- from home. Shirky uses the
example of the scribe. At one point in our history, scribes were necessary.
Scribes copied words by hand and this was the only way to distribute
communication on a large scale. Eventually the printing press was invented and
scribes were no longer needed. The scribes didn’t change with new technology,
with the invention of the printing press their usefulness became completely
obsolete.
“Most professions exist because
there is a scarce resource that requires ongoing management: librarians are
responsible for organizing books on the shelves, newspaper executives are
responsible for deciding what goes on the front page. In these cases, the
scarcity of the resource itself creates the need for professional class- there
are a few libraries but many patrons, there are few channels but many viewers.
In these cases, professionals become gatekeepers, simultaneously providing and
controlling access to information, entertainment, communications or other
ephemeral goods.” (57) When the gatekeepers can no longer control access, their
positions become less relevant.
Mass amteurization threatens the entire
journalism industry. When television started to change the way the masses
received media, newspapers had to change the way they produced media. The
beginning of chapter three of Everyone is
a media outlet by Clay Shirky, opens with Shirky explaining a story of his
uncle Howard, who was a small-town newspaperman. Shirky’s uncle Howard didn’t
understand how fast technology was changing in the communication industry and
was- like many other newspapers, slow to react to the change; therefore, the
way his papers were being produced remained the same. “For people with a
professional outlook; it’s hard to understand how something that isn’t
professionally produced could affect them.” (59) There seems to be a somewhat
narcissistic attitude with people who consider themselves “professional”
especially in the media industry, which is may be the reason many of them were
slow to react to the change. Many people
did not think there could be an entire industry of people who had no formal
training.
There are benefits and downsides
to the mass amateurization modern journalists are dealing with today. While
mass amateurization makes anyone a journalist the internet also makes it easier
to exchange ideas and create more critical content. “Mass amateurization is a result of the
radical spread of excessive capabilities, and the most obvious precedent is the
one that gave birth to modern world: the spread of the printing press five
years ago.” (61) Since we have more capabilities as journalists we are able to
create arguably better content. Ideas can be exchanged and bounced from one
another. Publishing and journalism is less formal, which can be a good thing.
Publishing is no longer specific
to someone who went to school to learn how to do it. Creating content to be
viewed is no longer strictly for a professional journalist. Thanks to the
internet each of us are given a platform this makes public speech more
valuable, arguably a contrast from early journalism. “In a world where
publishing is effortless, the decision to publish something isn’t terribly momentous.
Just as moveable type raised the value of being able to read and write even as
it destroyed the scribal tradition, globally free publishing is making public
speech and action more valuable, even as it absolutely diminishes the
specialness of professional publishing.” (79)
As
for future media professionals I feel like the most important trait someone can
have is to be adaptable. Having the ability to be “professional” at more than
one skill is absolutely crucial to surviving in the journalism and media industries.
As the face of central media continues to evolve we must have a solid grasp one
what it means to be versatile in such an ever changing industry. We as journalist must not be slow to react to
the change in media. Future media professionals should be aware and have a
degree of expectation for the many changes to come.
Work cited
Shirky, Clay. Here Comes
Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organizations. New York: Penguin
Books, 2009.
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