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March 12, 2006
Habermas on intellectuals and new media
Jürgen Habermas [minmax/flickr]
Der Standard is running the transcript of Jürgen Habermas' Bruno Kreisky Prize acceptance speech to the Karl Renner Institute. Unfortunately, only a short segment is available in English (I've contacted the Institute for a full English version):
On the one hand, the communication shift from books and the printed press to the television and the Internet has brought about an unimagined broadening of the media sphere, and an unprecedented consolidation of communication networks. Intellectuals used to swim around in the public sphere like fish in water, but this environment has become ever more inclusive, while the exchange of ideas has become more intensive than ever. But on the other hand the intellectuals seem to be suffocating from the excess of this vitalising element, as if they were overdosing. The blessing seems to have become a curse. I see the reasons for that in the de-formalisation of the public sphere, and in the de-differentiation of the respective roles.
My work at Radio Open Source makes me think about the role of "experts," especially academics, journalists and policy-makers, in current affairs commentary. I talk a lot about how the show can seem to move down parallel tracks, because we use extremely well-placed sources who are accustomed to working with major media organizations and bloggers who have little or no "expert" status. Of course, Open Source has picked up on one of the big ideas with the Internet: oftentimes, the best source is the person who is living a major news story. When you replace a talking head with a dimensional, invested, on-the-ground participant-observer, you re-prioritize the authenticity and immediacy of the story. That's the hope, at least.
One fascinating byproduct of Open Source's access to high caliber public figures, whose views and expertise often add a great deal to discussion, and interest in voices from across the spectrum of the Internet is a dialogue that begins to bridge the gap between analysts and witnesses. The broad theorizing of a political scientist can be combined with the sentiments and observations of a person watching an event unfold in the square below her window. Our show may be a model for one way of adapting the role of well-worn experts to work hand-in-hand with the rising class of prime sources.
Posted by Henry Shepherd at March 12, 2006 01:49 PM
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