Watching the watchdogs

Going viral isn't just a pop option; without it the Web-based watchdog has no bark, let alone bite.

The media have never been absolutely free, not in terms of content and not in terms of money, but today they are probably freer than ever. The Internet revolution, which is the Gutenberg moment of our times, now makes it possible for an ordinary person with a micro blog to achieve for a few pennies what was once the prerogative of tycoons and their publishing empires.

A citizen publisher can reach a potential audience of millions with the push of a button, but the hard work of investigation, fact-checking, writing and editing is as difficult as ever, and maybe even more so.

One advantage of the old, vertical system is the division of labor. A reporter is fact-checked and edited, and then green-lighted, or not, by an editor who has an owner or a leadership team to answer to, and a readership to be responsible to, while also serving as an arbiter of taste, tone and suitability.

The whistleblower can rarely afford such a backup crew, and as a lone ronin, he only has his sword to fall back on when things go wrong.

Despite the risks of being wrong, or wronged, whistleblowers usually go rogue. With a persecution complex that may well be based on reality, they slash at windmills and slug it out solo in the belief that their words must be free. They have lost faith in the system, but not in society. They fear the system will tone down, if not totally extinguish, the information that society needs to correct itself.

What is refreshing about Luo is that he insisted on naming names, starting with his own, and then that of the powerful target of his probe, a former top economic official, Liu Tienan. Ditto for Wang Wenzhi who writes for the Economic Information Daily but resorted to using his real-name Weibo account to name and shame China Resources Chairman, Song Lin.

This is bold, if not breathtaking, in a media environment beholden to the powers that be. Fortunately for Luo and Wang both, the courage of their conviction is backed by factual evidence and matched by the seriousness of the government's drive to uncover corruption.

Nowadays, anyone can be a publisher, but not everyone does a good job of it. As the Internet matures, and the annoying agitation of trolls, slanderers and purveyors of hate speech are calmed by the feedback mechanisms by which the Internet controls and corrects itself, the new breed of citizen publishers will discover something that traditional publishers have long since grappled with: with the power to influence comes the need for courage and caution, reflection and responsibility.

The author is a media researcher covering Asian politics.

(China Daily 04/21/2014 page9)

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