Debate: The Internet and Democracy
In less than a generation, the Internet has altered the daily lives of individuals in ways few would have conceived in its nascent stages. Initially a playground for the computer savvy, the world of blogs and tweets has given equal voice to anyone with a computer and a web connection.
It is also where Americans increasingly look for news and information — according to the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, last year the Internet surpassed newspapers as the source of national and international news, nearly doubling from the year before. Barack Obama channeled the power of the Internet to reach millions during his presidential campaign, and his administration has launched innovative methods to use the Internet to govern.
Debaters include:
Pro: Andrew Keen, author, The Cult of the Amateur: How Today’s Internet is Killing our Culture
Pro: Farhad Manjoo, journalist for Slate, author of True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society
Con: Jimmy Wales, founder, Wikipedia
Con: Micah L. Sifry, editor, Personal Democracy Forum
Date: Tue, 18 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700
Location: Washington, D.C., National Press Club, Miller Center of Public Affairs
Program and discussion: http://fora.tv/2010/05/18/Debate_The_Internet_and_Democracy
