Tyler Cicardo

4/6/2015
Senior Seminar
Reading Response #9
The digital pillory: media shaming of ordinary' people for minor crimes
1. In this article, the authors discuss the idea of media scrutiny inflicted on ordinary
individuals that commit minor felonies. They discuss new and traditional media forms, as
well as traditional news media.
2.
a. pillory- attack or ridicule publicly.
b. Shame (shaming) - the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of
something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous, etc., done by oneself or another.
c. discursive practice- a body of knowledge and behaviour that defines what is
normal, acceptable and deviant Hayward, 1998 as quoted in (Hess and Waller,
2014, p. 104).
3. We see references to Foucault throughout the article, and Foucaults idea of the
panopticon in regards to ordinary people constantly being observed. (i.e. mobile phone
with camera) (p. 105).
4.
a. I really found the evolution of shaming quite interesting. The article discussed
how at one point shaming was done with methods such as the scarlet letter and
physical abuse. Its comparable to todays society because due to the medias
effect, one mistake can be a burden on your life forever. (p. 103)
b. The article also points out that at one point local drunks were published in the
newspapers, complete with names and misdemeanors. It truly was interesting
seeing how this idea of shaming has transformed and evolved over the years. (p.
103-104).

Crowdsourcing CCTV surveillance on the Internet

1. This article discusses surveillance of CCTV (closed circuit television), in regards to its
distribution to and monitoring by large crowds over the internet.
2.
a. crowdsourcing a process where those externally designated as nonprofessionalsengage in a collaborative project for little to no financial
compensation (Trottier, 2014, p. 611).
b. CCTV crowdsourcing refers to a scheme, where users, who are geographically
dispersed, monitor CCTV footage from their respective computers (Trottier,
2014, p. 613). (Article has a direct focus on Crimestoppers, Facewatch, Internet
Eyes and Shoreditch Digital Bridge).
c. Cybercrime - crime conducted via the Internet or some other computer network.
d.
3. This article, like the last, touches on Foucaults idea of the panopticon, in addition to the
familiar concept of participatory surveillance that we have previously discussed.
4.
a. Prior to this article I had no idea that Crimestoppers, Facewatch, Internet Eyes
and Shoreditch Digital Bridge even existed, and it was interesting to learn the
different purposes that they serve. (p. 614-621).
b. The two articles are similar in regards to the surveillance correlating with the
crime aspect. While the last article dealt with shaming on a digital media level,
this article focused on the different sites that exist to help thwart crime.