Mediasphere is the collective ecology of the world’s media, including newspapers, journals, television, radio, books, novels, advertising, press releases, publicity, and the blogosphere (what we do each week). In simpler terms, it is any and all media both broadcast and published. Newspapers became a political force in the campaign for American independence. The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees freedom of the press because the creators recognized the importance of keeping government and its officials accountable. Information is important to maintaining the balance of power in this nation. 
MSM refers collectively to the various large mass news media that influence people, and reflect and shape prevailing thoughts. An example of an MSM is The Walt Disney Company, which owns the ABC television networks. These mainstream networks and publications cater to the majority of the population. MSM is the contrast to alternative media, which may contain content with more dissenting thoughts at variance. Alternative media is a source of information and publications that fall outside of MSM. FOX started out as a form of alternative media; however, its growing viewership resulted it being labeled mainstream media. The criteria for determining whether a news source counts as alternative media is based on these questions: Is it corporate owned? What is its content (news that is either repressed or misreported by the mainstream media)? How is it produced and distributed (the internet is the most popular outlet for alternative media)? Does it seek some kind of political or social change? Is it intended to generate profit? Alternative media is considered tabloids or to be full of conspiracy theories.
An echo chamber is an environment where a person only encounters information or opinions that reflect and reinforce their own. They can spread false information and distort a person’s perspective, and are driven by confirmation bias, which favors information that reinforces existing beliefs. Echo chambers can happen anywhere and everywhere information is shared. In order to recognize echo chambers, think of these questions: Do they tend to only give one perspective on an issue? Is that viewpoint mainly supported by rumor or incomplete evidence? Are facts ignored whenever they go against that viewpoint?
A whistleblower is a person who discloses information to the public about any wrongdoing, which could be fraud, corruption, etc. There are specific laws that protect whistleblowers such as False Claims Act, Dodd-Frank Act, and the Whistleblower Protection Act. Whistleblowers experience retaliation for doing the right thing, and anonymity is crucial to whistleblowing. If whistleblowing turns to leaking classified information, then the whistleblower could be charged with crime. All in all, the person needs to know the rules and the consequences before whistleblowing. 
Citizen journalism involves amateur individuals generating and sharing their own news by collecting, reporting, analyzing, and publicizing information. Social media plays a huge role in citizen journalism because people have 24/7 access to technology. Not all citizen journalisms are reliable sources because the writers are not professionals. They may not fact check, which could threaten professional journalism.
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