Well, let's look at a case in Mississippi that hits me in the fandom. A former professional wrestler (and son of a famous 1980s wrestler) is going to trial next week for welfare fraud.
Pro wrestling is one of the better-documented fandoms on the Internet. Documentation of events spans back decades. Wrestlers who've moved on to other industries, from yoga to real estate still get some level of coverage. I would expect if there is any citizen journalism to be had, it would be a fanboy following their curiosity.
I've seen plenty of commentary stemming from the news media. I've never seen or heard of citizen-led journalism, or fan journalism that led up to force the case's hand. You'd think that Blues prosecuting Reds on their own turf would fit Case 2 - but it didn't happen. It seems that the state did its job before citizens had to - Reds prosecuting Reds. There's a joke in Blue corners that "Republicans will campaign that government doesn't work, and when they're elected - act in a way to prove it (by being incompetent and corrupt)." This is certainly a counterfactual I'll bring up in future conversations.
I don't think this is indicative of any larger social trends. Sometimes competent government oversight just happens. Sometimes journalism is just downstream of institutions. Maybe one day we'll see Case 2 rear its head. Stranger things have happened.
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Well, let's look at a case in Mississippi that hits me in the fandom. A former professional wrestler (and son of a famous 1980s wrestler) is going to trial next week for welfare fraud.
Pro wrestling is one of the better-documented fandoms on the Internet. Documentation of events spans back decades. Wrestlers who've moved on to other industries, from yoga to real estate still get some level of coverage. I would expect if there is any citizen journalism to be had, it would be a fanboy following their curiosity.
I've seen plenty of commentary stemming from the news media. I've never seen or heard of citizen-led journalism, or fan journalism that led up to force the case's hand. You'd think that Blues prosecuting Reds on their own turf would fit Case 2 - but it didn't happen. It seems that the state did its job before citizens had to - Reds prosecuting Reds. There's a joke in Blue corners that "Republicans will campaign that government doesn't work, and when they're elected - act in a way to prove it (by being incompetent and corrupt)." This is certainly a counterfactual I'll bring up in future conversations.
I don't think this is indicative of any larger social trends. Sometimes competent government oversight just happens. Sometimes journalism is just downstream of institutions. Maybe one day we'll see Case 2 rear its head. Stranger things have happened.
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