As news and information is shared with the public through more community centric channels, traditional “big” media is walking a fine line. While some are openly collaborating with community media and citizen journalists, others are yet to do so.

The result: an unfortunate portrayal of situations and communities as well as lacking credits to the appropriate (and original) sources of reporting. The Boston Globe is guilty of this and this issue cropped up again past this week when NBC reported a story that had been previously broken by Press Pass TV; NBC Steals story from Kids.

Part of the mission here at Press Pass TV is to use the news as a source of empowerment, community building and to inspire people to action. We were happy to feature Darrin Howell, Cassie Grice and their neighbors in their dialogue about solutions to keep their children and their neighborhood safe. The story featured here on Channel 7 does none of those things, and instead perpetuates a lot of the hopelessness and fear we see young people already feeling about their communities.

As literacy, news and access to information shifts daily, Cara works to build a space that ensures there are opportunities to empower others to better leverage media to advocate, educate and promote social change for their communities and themselves.

Cara’s passion and commitment is an inspiration – she makes it known that we’re not simply going to sit back and let media and communities be exploited, but rather continue to strive (and demand) fair collaboration, transparency and change!

Learn more about Cara Lisa Powers, By Any Media Neceassary and Press Pass TV.

[Photo from {labudde} via Etsy]

I strive to make sustainable clothing and accessories in a number of ways. I work with eco friendly and natural fabrics, like wool, raw silk, and bamboo jersey. I also scour thrift stores, vintage stores, and antique stores for secondhand fabric, cool vintage buttons. It is amazing how many beautiful fabrics are trapped in unwear-ably-unstylish clothing in thrift stores, just waiting to be discovered and reconstructed.

Jenny’s passion for eco chic fashion is founded on sustainability, wearability, affordability and craftsmanship. Sassy clothes with a conscience – who doesn’t love that. Yes, expect several {labudde} pieces in my spring and summer waredrobe. Learn more about Jenny and be sure to visit her new blog labuddesigns.

Interns Needed for Health Social Media Startup
WEGO Health seeks passionate, super-sharp interns to work in our Boston office. You’ll contribute meaningfully to a variety of community, editorial and market-research projects that support and grow our community of health activists – leaders across dozens of health and wellness areas.

WEGO Health interns are major players who make big contributions. Our atmosphere is relaxed, our hierarchy flat. This is a great place to grow and learn.

Please be:
• A great writer and researcher
• Passionate about and fluent in social media tools (i.e., blogs, facebook, twitter, etc.)
• Have a deep personal interest in health and wellness topics
• Full of positive attitude and high energy
• Known for your sense of humor
• Able to bring a laptop to the office

You must work at least 12-16 hours per week for course credit (or just an amazing resume line!); this is an unpaid internship.

About WEGO Health:

WEGO Health is an exciting new company exploring ways to give consumers a voice in health care. Learn more at http://www.wegohealth.com/about-us.html
Location: Downtown Crossing

*Prefer undergraduate students, but not restricted to (especially if you make a compelling case).

We chose Zambia – Rural Community Development Project in an ode to friends that we cherish.

This five year effort will improve the lives of many families living in poverty in Zambia. These families are displaced mineworkers, facing high unemployment rates and food shortages. Through the work of this project, Heifer will not only provide the lifesaving livestock these families need but also provide them with valuable agroecology skills and training in marketing and sustainable agriculture.

My husband and I have been proactively seeking out gifts with meaning. We desire to give gifts that are more than simply “stuff”, but have an intentionality to them that truly speaks to the recipient and relationship all while promoting social good in a sustainable way.

The economy was already hard to ignore, but now the recent filing of the Tribune Company makes it impossible to ignore. We’re not only talking economically, but traditional methods of news telling, sharing and distributing are on the cusp of major change. The models and business structures aren’t working and society is shifting. It’s a good time to ask yourself the following: how do you get your news, what form do you want that news to take and what content do you want that news to be comprised of? More soon.

Debt Forces Tribune Co. To File Bankruptcy
by David Folkenflik
Listen Now [3 min 57 sec] add to playlist

Morning Edition, December 9, 2008 · Tribune Co. which owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun and other dailies has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The conglomerate also owns TV stations, the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field. It’s been crushed by a drop in advertising and $13 billion in debt (courtesy of NPR).

However in order to satisfy my own blogging desires, and to leave you with something worthwhile, here’s Beth Kanter‘s Top 10 Nonprofit Technology (NPTech) and Social Media for Social Change Blogs (courtesy of Blogs.com):

Amy Sample Ward‘s Version of NPTech
CauseWired
Have Fun Do Good
Katya Andresen: Nonprofit Marketing Blog
Laura’s Notebook
Qui Diaz – Evange.list
Social Actions
Social Citizens Blog
SocialButterfly
ext337

Of course I had to add a plug for Cambridge Community Television (CCTV), while they might not be what typically comes to mind in regards to social change via blogging (since they are a public access center), they are nonetheless breaking the stereotype and doing just that. They are rapidly honing in and expanding upon the idea of localism, what it means, what it looks like and how is can be harnessed. CCTV is utilizing social media in a way that’s causing the metamorphosis of the public access community, which is increasingly critical as the traditional access model continues to be threaten .

Visit Save Access for more.

The definition, and our associated opinions, no doubt vary widely, based on our own experiences, knowledge and prejudices:

Specifically what kind of literacy is being measured? Let’s see the effect on SAT reading and writing scores. Let’s see book sales data demographically.

On the one hand, I believe distractions were always an issue, and the internet has shifted, rather than created them. But on the other, to say it is a benefit, well let’s just see who the sponsors of this study were. It may be a little bit like the medical studies spouting the benefits of chocolate that were found to be funded by Hershey’s and the like.

— Dennis L, New York City (courtesy of NYT community comments)

There is a major disconnect occurring between those who understand the value of the web, media literacy and the future of technology; and those who don’t. This is clearly depicted by the comments made in response to the recent NYT article, Teenagers’ Internet Socializing Not a Bad Thing.

For those of us who are informed, we have a responsibility to aid in the guidance of youth as they navigate the array of skills they are accumulating, but who’s going  to guide the adults?

And better yet, how? Media literacy curriculum for parents is dramatically different then media literacy for kids, and education for scholars and corporations are other potentially independent categories. In order to cultivate understanding we must encourage this ever-increasing group of digital natives to think critically and participate mindfully, but that only gets us halfway there; we need to equally allocate literacy among a much broader, and feasibly more challenging, group of constituents.

For more of the community comments, click here.

Like many technologies and behaviors, the act of texting has quickly integrated into our society, for better or for worse. For the better, I am able to text someone in a pinch to offer a specific bit of information without an hour long conversation. For the worse, cell phone and text related accidents are up as folks fail to recognize the dangers of texting and driving.

But I’m convinced that this is only the start, the role it plays in our lives will undoubtedly change, and we may never even realize it. It will morph as not only technologies change, but people change. Its purpose will stem beyond simple, instantaneous communication. There will, as there has already been, an increased intentionally, as well as the construction of boundaries.

Boundaries is a much larger discussion, but for now, I personally am starting to switch to an almost retaliatory state. I don’t always want to be pinged by political campaigns and multiple Twitter accounts. I want content when I want it, not always when someone else wants me to have it. Who’s in control, and what role do they want this mobility driven, or taken, content to play?

Again, this is a much larger debate, but for now text messaging will not go away, it will change, and we will see it redefined as technologies, people and whole societies, and subcultures, change. The question then that remains is do you prepare for that change, drive it or ignore it?

I don’t think that I’m the only African-American edublogger but I have noticed that racial diversity is lacking in the ’sphere. Am I wrong? If not, what are the reasons? What are the implications (for the web community, students, and other stakeholders)? Courtesy of Diversity 2.5.1 (BETA)? (Comic)

Diversity isn’t only lacking within educational blogging, but within the web as a whole. As technology continues to go mainstream, we are faced with new complexities to stagnant issues of racism, classism, ageism and so forth. These isms are taking new shape and being forced to face new challenges with the increased presence of the web.

Today it is expected that you will find a job, apply for college, do research, and connect with your friends all through virtual means, but what if you don’t have a computer or even have access to one? What if you don’t have broadband (p.s. that’s a bigger issue in and of itself)? What if you’re a school with limited resources and outdated technology?

What are the implications (for the web community, students, and other stakeholders)?

A voice isn’t being heard.

Today, more then ever, the web is about conversations and community, but what if the community is missing a potentially powerful member? There are voices waiting to be heard and stories needing to be told. This is occurring in our communities, schools, cities and towns as well as across the world in Africa and a multitude of other countries without the means to participate in the conversation.

Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) is just one example of an organization offering access to their community. They are providing the resources to learn, understand and engage through technical means of communication that would otherwise be out of reach.

For those of us who live our lives wrapped up in technology it’s easy to forget that there is an increasing digital divide that is leaving many in its wake. As a blogger, a social  media enthusiastic and a humanitarian it is my responsibly to ensure that everyone has a voice. As the web continues to integrate into our lives I challenge you to be an advocate for the collective conversation not only including those who have the means, but everyone who has a voice.