International Conference April 24-26, 2009 MIT

new media, civic media

In the mass media era, public or civic media culture was nurtured in specific zones, such as public broadcasting stations, the news holes of major newspapers, syndicated news services, cable access and media arts centers.

That mass-mediated culture had enormous strengths and matching weaknesses. As the mass-media era decays, a participatory, interactive culture is emerging. It could be leveraged for a rich, creative civic/public culture....or not.

How are new media tools enabling a new kind of civic/ public culture? And specifically:

How are "space-based" mobile devices creating new opportunities and challenges for public media makers?

How do social media tools offer the chance for the public to participate directly in defining and creating public media?

How can deep archives of content and images be used to generate relevant, dynamic public media projects?

How will online video practices become part of civic/ public culture?