In the essay, Everyone is a Media Outlet, Clay Shirky engages the idea of the rhetorical
situation throughout. The reader is forced to question what they believe about the entire
writing and publishing process and the commercialization of the industry. The ideas of issues,
stakeholders, and context are very clear to the reader of the essay. This essay makes the reader
question, the real qualifications to becoming a journalist? Some people believe that anyone can
be a journalist, whether it be the author of a somewhat unknown blog, or a person who is
nationally recognized and well respected by their peers. These new technologies that are being
developed may be helpful, but they are forever changing the process of publication and what
defines a journalist. Before technology became so developed, being considered a journalist
was based on whether or not your work was published. This was simple to determine because
there were only a small number of publishers. But, as time goes on, publishing is becoming
cheaper by means of the Internet and other similar resources.

The audience of this essay encompasses mainly people who are in the publishing and
news production business, the stakeholders, but it also appeals to outsiders of the industry too.
The stakeholders have the most to lose or gain from the situation occurring. In the first couple
pages of this essay, it was described how small printing and publishing companies have slowly
disappeared because new printing machines were invented that made the entire process more
efficient. This took away the livelihood of some families because their survival of many
families depended upon the success of their printing and publishing of things such as
newspapers. When this was challenged by the advancement of new machines and faster means
of production, they suffered. As a result, the actual value of the tradition of the printing being
done by hand was brought into question. Was it really worth it to allow people to continue
printing by hand just for the tradition? And if it was determined that was not the case, what
business would they switch to in order to support their family? Overall, decisions were made
that affected peoples' lives and the publishing industry as a whole. Small time family printing
presses ultimately could not function and keep up with the growing demand and changes,
causing them to become pretty much non-existent. Another, not so common stakeholder was
the people who use the new terms of production to spread the news. These included people
who owned and operated printing presses in the beginning but grew to include the Internet,
televisions, and publications such as blogs. They invested their time towards the writing they
did and deserve to be rewarded for it. Just because they did not publish their work in the way it
had been done in the past does not mean they are not equally recognizable and deserving of
praise.

With the new increase in ability and ease of publishing information, the issue of who is
really considered a journalist arises. People in various positions in the field have different
views on this topic than people who may just blog for fun. But, with no predetermined way to
decide this, it is up to the interpretation of the individual. The essay describes the situation as,
"This idea preserves what is most wrong with the original definition, namely that the definition
of journalist is not internally consistent but rather is tied to ownership of communications
machinery" (72). When printing and publishing was still privatized, the amount of journalists
could be carefully and thoughtfully controlled. But, as time goes on and publishing a piece of
work becomes as easy as posting it online, the lines become blurred. There cannot be set
standards of a journalist because they were not set in place before the technology appeared.
People who have been in the publishing industry for many years and worked hard to get there
are biased against the bloggers who become famous with, in their opinion, less work. They
believe that since they were working and writing when Internet publishing was not around, that
they deserve more recognition than the people blogging. But, times were different then and
technology changes as time goes on. The essay describes it as, "Journalistic privilege is based
on the previous scarcity of publishing" (75). Depending on the time you first published your
work determined whether you had a more difficult time or not. Although there is technically
no "real" journalistic privilege, some people believe it is understood, especially the more
established people. Depending on your position in the industry, you have a different view.
But, as an outsider looking in, I personally believe journalists are people who have their work
published in a well known book or magazine. I do not see someone who has a blog, unless it is
recognized worldwide, as a journalist.

The same issue that we are facing with the idea of the journalist and publications has
also been faced in the photography industry. In the beginning, only a small number of people
had cameras and knew how to properly produce a quality photo. But, as time went on, more
and more people began to purchase cameras and take pictures of their own. This hurts the
professional photography industry because people learned they are able to produce high quality
photos without hiring someone. Everyday people are able to buy a camera, snap a picture, and
go online to edit and print it. This diminishes the importance of having a professional take your
picture. The essay describes it as, "Because one of the services provided by professionals was
the simple availability and findability of their photos relative to the amateurs, they commanded
a premium for each photo sold" (75). Professionals were mainly successful because of the
availability and easy access to their photos. But, people began to realized they could print a
picture at a major discount rather than have another person do it for them. The website,
iStockPhoto.com was also created so amateur photographers could sell their photos, further
challenging the professional photography industry. The amateurs' photos where available for a
much lower cost, making them more appealing to the public.

The situation as a whole, although it affects the livelihood of families, is necessary in
the growth of not only the industry, but also of people. Without the advancement of
technology, our society would be stuck in the past, making it hard to move forward and keep up
to speed with all of the other countries around us. The main factor affecting the entire
publishing and journalistic situation is the advancement of technology and growing increase in
demand. This allowed the lines of who is "professional" and who is not to become blurred and
ultimately undeterminable.
