Rate your government’s media

In the digital age, the author says, government is a bigger publisher than ever. Websites are now standard for local, state and national government. But the question remains: Does government media have a special responsibility to be interactive because it is in essence owned by the people who use it?

Discussion levels:

Flashlight: Does local government produce quality media for your city or town? What resources and information sources are available for citizens? Is it enough? Is it available on mobile devices? What more could be done?

Searchlight: Search for examples of government media that uses crowd-sourcing techniques to engage its community in debate or decision-making. Discuss what works best. If not, discuss why interactive “Government 2.0” techniques are not standard on government websites.

Spotlight: Visit the Voice of America, White House.gov and the Library of Congress webcasts. If these three sources had conflicting versions of the same information, which would you be most likely to believe and why?