I don’t hold his opinion of the likely outcome of the report; however, there’s no guarantee that the whole thing couldn’t go sideways big time.

And Dan, if you’re reading this and have any input on the hiring process, I’m available. Seriously. But as Mr. Zekas says, it would take a lot more than 48k to get me on board, but it sounds like a fascinating opportunity with the caveat that researcher is given luxury of being brutally honest about the findings, one way or another.

No one who’s capable of performing this job adequately is likely to listen to $48k a year – not even twice that.

I’d say the quality of the report is even more pre-determined than the content.

> But after years of hard work and substantial investment, has citizen media lived up to that hope?

No. It was a delusion.

> Has power really shifted from the center to the edge?

No. All that’s happened is the creation of a new center. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. If you’re not passed by a gatekeeper, YOU DON’T GET HEARD.

> Has the conversation become more informed and inspired?

No. If anything, it’s gotten worse. This is because overall less fact-gathering is supported and more bloviating is encouraged.

> Who is participating and how can we measure the impact of this new form of media?

Money talks.

> How has the dynamic of the media ecosystem changed with respect to interaction between professionals and amateurs, and is it sustainable?

There’s whole business models based on digital-sharecropping, outsourcing, and “local content harvesting”. This is sustainable to some extent, but requires constant emotional manipulation of the audience.

P.S.: The ironic kicker is that due to the various entanglements, the content of any report is almost pre-determined, and it won’t resemble the above.