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Back to the Coffee House

Has the news industry come full circle? Hundreds of years ago, news spread via word of mouth, pamphlets, and newsletters – often in coffee houses or public spaces. This, by its very nature, encouraged conversation surrounding the news; both in response to it and in distributing it. Then there were newspapers, and mass-audience media usurped information sharing authority for many years. However, it seems the news industry is returning to the original, more conversational nature of news distribution. Platforms like YouTube and Twitter are enabling ordinary people to become increasingly involved in compiling, sharing, filtering, discussing and distributing news. While this benefits society in numerous ways, it inevitably comes at a cost.

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