John Dewey

After reading the excerpt on John Dewey, it is clear as to why he has become a historical figure fashioned with the age of online journalism. Dewey stated his position as an anti-elitist because, he felt the wise and powerful figures had a distorted view of public interest due to their high-rank position; therefore, the fact that they cannot relate to the interest of the common people because their lifestyles differ. The excerpt also highlighted that Dewey was a strong believer in individual freedom and democracy. Dewey believed that democracy was not just tied down to the government, but dealt with social and personal ideals. He felt that democracy not only consisted of a wide range of social relationships, but cut across different social spheres.
It is obvious that this relates to the age of online journalism because, online journalism has become a connection of social relationships among the public sphere. Online journalism enables individual freedom by the presence of blogs and opens stories that allow for comments. People are no longer restricted by print journalism and they are able to respond or alter the information that is published online. Due to the invention of social networks, people are able to interact not only with a wide range of people, but different cultural backgrounds. With social networks, people are able to build relationships, find common interests, and discuss issues that connect them in the social sphere. With these common issues, blogs are created relaying information about certain topics and it appears as though, ultimately, the public have become the online journalists.
As stated, Dewey felt that elitist’s views of public interest were distorted due to the fact that they are in a higher position. Because of the creation of the Internet, a person is able to go to my.barrackobama.com and they are instantly connected to direct issues dealing with the government. The barrier of the one stream connection between the people and the government has begun to break down and people are able to have a voice in political and hierarchical issues. The Internet is a collection of interests that pertain to the public and this is a main factor as to why Dewey has become an influential figure in the Internet age.
Dewey also believed in modern natural sciences because he felt that they were progressive and cumulative and with the capture of modern sciences, humans would have greater control of the natural world. With this said, Dewey adds that “methods used by science are not fixed but themselves have history and develop progressively and in unexpected ways”. Clearly, this sounds like creation of online journalism. Journalism has a long history of changes, expanding from the penny press, newspapers, radio, television and now the Internet. Journalism has never been “fixed,” but has become a progressive process that the public is now expanding on with the creation of the Internet. The expansion of online journalism was unexpected and is still growing. Everyday people have become the investigative reporters and are blogging their thoughts every second. It seems as though the Internet has become the modern science and journalism has progressed through this medium.