Blog #11

     The concepts of online influencers, whistleblowers, mainstream media, and alternative media are all very hot topics in the field of communication. Some of these have existed for decades while others have only just come into existence. All of them are sure to be important for the future of communication as we know it.

    The term "online influencers" refers to people with large followings on social media that hold influence over their followers. The first online influencers were people known as "Mommy Bloggers." These women shared tips online about raising young kids. They gained large followings of other mothers looking for advice 

    Online influencers can use their platforms to spread information. Like all information, this could either have positive benefits or negative consequences. Some influencers use their platforms in positive ways to build others up, while other influencers spread hate speech and start petty online fights. Most of the influencers who do spark fights end up recieving backlash from other people online and are often scorned by the general public (think Logan Paul). However, some do very positive things like charity work for organizations such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

    Whistleblower is a term used to refer to government employees that expose government wrongdoings. Obviously, these people are pretty frowned upon by the government but their existance is vital. Some famous whistleblowers include Daniel Ellsberg, Mark Felt, A. Ernest Fitzgerald, and Coleen Rowley. Each of these individuals exposed some sort of crime the government was committing. Without whistleblowers, there would be no one to keep the government in check when they breach our freedom.

    Mainstream and alternative media are the two types of news common today. Mainstream media refers to the news sources that the general public uses such as newspapers, news networks, and radio news. Alternative media refers to news that is a little less known about such as podcasts, ebooks, websites, and magazines. Mainstream media usuaully has a higher budget than alternative media so they usually have better coverage of big events. However, it seems that most mainstream media has some sort of agenda to push. You're either getting republican news or democrat news. Alternative media is the only place where it is possible to just find news. Alternative media isn't tied to the governemnt at all so they can just report events as they happen.