Free Internet, Free Press.

As the Web Challenges French Leaders, They Push Back by The New York Times intrigued me.
I have spent a decent amount of time in France and am making plans to return for an internship. So the idea that the internet was presenting challenges to the French politicians seemed like a pertinent thing to me be reading up on.

The quotes in this article were very powerful for me; discussing the idea of the Web bringing about complete transparency. Politicians are resigning because of racist quotes being captured and leaked, Sarkosy himself being scandalized; the insulation that used to surround the politically elite is now being penetrated by the Internet.

It is no secret that this is happening in the United States as well. Mitt Romney's 47% comment that sunk his campaign and the the most recent even being the Hilary Clinton email scandal are just some examples. These are rather minor offenses produced by both political figures, however, offenses that start to dissolve the integrity of those that the public holds in such high esteem.

It should not surprise us that these figures, whom we place on pedestals, are not in fact the ideal human beings we once thought they were. However people still get up in arms about even the slightest scandals; something I must admit I can never completely understand.

But the illusion has been broken, and we can see that it all has been smoke and mirrors; that is the important part, isn't it?

It's what the government and politicians are doing in response to this plethora of information that scares me. The rising surveillance in France and the strength of the American Patriot Act make me fear that this is just the beginning of of government surveillance on the internet.

Documentaries like Terms and Conditions May Apply make me realize that it's the companies that we know, love and trust, like Apple and Google that are partially responsible for stripping us of our privacy.

Corporations and governments, two things that are becoming more and more synonymous, are sifting through our public, private and even strictly personal information via the internet. Many people don't seem to mind this fact although they probably aren't considering this: that this information is not only used to persecute the average individual, but also prosecute journalists and their whistleblowers. This is a truly dangerous precedent.

People are starting to realize this though, and the talk and suspicions are spreading like wildfire, or will if they haven't already. People are starting to realize that they don't want the government in control of everything they are doing online.

Everyone has something to hide. Those who don't are lying. This is why net neutrality is so important. A free internet means a free people and a free press.

Alright alright I'll get off my soap box.

Glen Greenwold Article 2/1/2016

Upon reading the article Freedom of Press Launches Fundraiser to Aid Heroic Journalists in Police Brutality Investigations by Glen Greenwold, I was instantly filled with a strange sense oh hope within myself. Ever since I started along my journalistic path my freshman year of college, I had begun to hear horror stories of all of the occasions in recent history that the media have simply and sorely failed at getting the information that the audience needs to hear. The harsh realities of the world that we live in that the public - who so often have their heads turned in other directions - need to hear. 

I never understood why or how news or journalism even started becoming corrupt. It was a complex problem that I couldn't seem to previously wrap my head around. I strutted around as a wide-eyed freshman, beyond excited to make my way up to working for CNN if I play my cards right. But after sitting through courses of journalism ethics, history and hours of Citizen Kane and sifting through countless articles on the News Corp and Rupert Murdoch and I began to feel a sinking sensation in my heart and in my stomach. I was finally beginning to understand that the news could be purchased and owned by a single person and can therefore be manipulated in a similar way. 

The news didn't belong to the people. It belonged to whoever had the highest paycheck, or so classes and statistics seemed to say. News organizations like the New York Times and the Washington Post seemed to no longer be the location for breaking news. It was independent news websites like Free Press that helped me really figure out who actually owns the news. It was a little shocking to see just how few names were on the list of news company owners. 

I have heard of people getting their careers started or launched through the internet and viewer support. Make-up artists like Michelle Phan with millions of views that have launched their own make-up lines. 

Seeing the news industry follow suite instilled a feeling of pride. Like some sort of integrity is slowly being re-instated in the journalism profession. The idea that journalists are willing to leave the corrupt institutions that are accepting black money from auto and gas companies. I love the idea that new independent news companies are starting to hire new journalists who are thirsty for the truth.

Journalists like Brandon Smith who are starting their own independent news projects and are allocating money for them through the internet just shows how thirsty their audiences and internet communities are for breaking news and cutting information that does exactly what the 4th Estate is supposed to do; keep the government and corporations in check. 

Seeing this makes the idealistic journalist within me happy and eager to follow suite to help provide important information to those who it is being kept from.