Comments on: Asking Questions of Public Figures http://citmedia.org/blog/2007/04/30/asking-questions-of-public-figures/ Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:05:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Dan Gillmor http://citmedia.org/blog/2007/04/30/asking-questions-of-public-figures/#comment-149706 Dan Gillmor Tue, 01 May 2007 04:37:14 +0000 http://citmedia.org/blog/2007/04/30/asking-questions-of-public-figures/#comment-149706 I'm glad you guys are posting here, and have no idea why academics don't... I’m glad you guys are posting here, and have no idea why academics don’t…

]]> By: Jon Garfunkel http://citmedia.org/blog/2007/04/30/asking-questions-of-public-figures/#comment-149701 Jon Garfunkel Tue, 01 May 2007 02:14:03 +0000 http://citmedia.org/blog/2007/04/30/asking-questions-of-public-figures/#comment-149701 I don't share Seth's cynicism. I actually <a href="http://civilities.net/StumpThePresident" rel="nofollow">sketched out this idea three years ago</a>. I think it's a good idea. I just never thought that this would be monetizable. It's fairly easy for an existing news company to do. The Online News Association should, as I've suggested, just start writing up an RFP for what functionality should exist in CMS's. It also fits into the open-source reporting model and constructive media theory. A reporter should list the "known unknowns" in something resembling a FAQ. Granted, I'm skeptical in the citizen's questions. The popular questions will likely be ones that are broad enough to win popular support-- but they won't be the specific sort of questions that reporters/experts would ask. This is what I started finding with <a href="http://civilities.net/Deval_Patricks_Issues" rel="nofollow">Governor Deval Patrick's new website</a>. It's not that things are gamed on purpose, they are just gamed because of the vagaries of of the information infrastructure. Dan, I'm still wondering something I had been researching back in August. Why does it seem like your principal commenters here are Seth and me? Neither of us are professional media researchers, affiliated with any academic institutions. Also, dear readers, I can only guess about Seth, but it's not like I get a ton of fan mail thanking me for my observations on CitMedia. I don’t share Seth’s cynicism. I actually sketched out this idea three years ago. I think it’s a good idea.

I just never thought that this would be monetizable. It’s fairly easy for an existing news company to do. The Online News Association should, as I’ve suggested, just start writing up an RFP for what functionality should exist in CMS’s.

It also fits into the open-source reporting model and constructive media theory. A reporter should list the “known unknowns” in something resembling a FAQ.

Granted, I’m skeptical in the citizen’s questions. The popular questions will likely be ones that are broad enough to win popular support– but they won’t be the specific sort of questions that reporters/experts would ask. This is what I started finding with Governor Deval Patrick’s new website. It’s not that things are gamed on purpose, they are just gamed because of the vagaries of of the information infrastructure.

Dan, I’m still wondering something I had been researching back in August. Why does it seem like your principal commenters here are Seth and me? Neither of us are professional media researchers, affiliated with any academic institutions. Also, dear readers, I can only guess about Seth, but it’s not like I get a ton of fan mail thanking me for my observations on CitMedia.

]]> By: Seth Finkelstein http://citmedia.org/blog/2007/04/30/asking-questions-of-public-figures/#comment-149699 Seth Finkelstein Mon, 30 Apr 2007 23:58:43 +0000 http://citmedia.org/blog/2007/04/30/asking-questions-of-public-figures/#comment-149699 Umm, why is this a good start? Seems like: 1) It can be gamed trivially - just have a bunch of partisans vote up "Why are you so magnificent?" 2) What's popular is not necessarily what's important (left as an exercise for the reader). 3) Who cares if a flack writes a canned response? So they say it's a canned response, just look at the President's press conferences to see how much that matters. This is actually one of the worst aspects of data-mining as government - the idea that FINDING-WHAT'S-POPULAR has profound public meaning. It doesn't, because it's usually not difficult at all. Umm, why is this a good start? Seems like:

1) It can be gamed trivially - just have a bunch of partisans vote up “Why are you so magnificent?”

2) What’s popular is not necessarily what’s important (left as an exercise for the reader).

3) Who cares if a flack writes a canned response? So they say it’s a canned response, just look at the President’s press conferences to see how much that matters.

This is actually one of the worst aspects of data-mining as government - the idea that FINDING-WHAT’S-POPULAR has profound public meaning. It doesn’t, because it’s usually not difficult at all.

]]>