Media helped create the crisis it finds itself in

This blogpost is adapted from a transcript of my talk given at Breakwater Festival in Gdańsk. You can find the slides here. I am an Internet plumber. I’ve been an Internet plumber in many organizations, including journalistic ones. I’ve also done information security work for media organizations, for example in the run up to and during the Panama Papers. What I am not is a journalist. I have not studied journalism in any formal way. I’ve been writing for OKO.press and other outlets for several years now, but I don’t feel that alone makes me a member of that club. I still see myself mainly as a techie. So I beg your forgiveness, for I – a person with arguably no real journalistic credentials – will now have opinions on journalism, with you, actual journalists, present in the room. This might end up being a phenomenal demonstration of the Dunning–Kruger effect. I do hope you’ll at least enjoy the ride. My one saving grace here is that I will focus on the interplay between journalism and…