Autonomy in information: pre-trial publicity,commercial media,and user generated content

When information is no longer scarce, what does this mean for a legal system? Will this effectively eliminate the possibility of an unbiased juror in the United States? This article will look at the history of pre-trial publicity cases and the impending effect of rapidly increasing technological outlets. I argue that greater media availability will not necessarily increase the biases of potential jurors. Instead, adopting the main argument from Yochai Benkler's, The Wealth of Networks, I posit that non-traditional, user-generated content (UGC) can solve a failure in the conventional mass media market. Looking at the sharing of information as an iterated game, I contend that non-commercial UGC creation is free from constraints imposed on for profit media. Paradoxically, it is this unorganized and unprofessional publicity that can remedy defects in the professional media market. Non-commercial media is more autonomous, allowing the coverage of opinions and viewpoints mainstream media outlets commonly fail to address. As these non-commercial firms successfully fill holes in traditional media reporting, new outlets will be encouraged to enter the market.