How can media help democracy?
The question guided last weekend’s Aspen Institute Forum on Communications and Society, broadcast live exclusively by GroundReport. The event featured thought leaders like former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, Google VP Marissa Mayer, Akamai CEO Paul Sagan and craigslist founder Craig Newmark. GroundReport CEO Rachel Sterne also joined the discussion to explore how citizen journalism fosters global engagement. To illustrate the point Ms. Sterne recounted that GroundReport contributor Noel Hidalgo was recently deported from China after filming pro-Tibet protests in Tiananmen Square.
For four days, the dignitaries met in the lush mountains of Aspen, Colorado, to debate the merits of new media and how to spark civic and global engagement. GroundReport.com produced the live webcast for the second year in a row, but joined the table for the first time. In addition to participants the live Mogulus chat enabled lively debate across thousands of miles, with commentary from media innovators Jeff Jarvis, David Cohn, and Erik Hersman. Mr. Hersman later wrote at length on his blog about the topic of trust and anonymity on the web.
Watch GroundReport’s coverage here and share your thoughts in the chat: http://aspeninstitute.tv