New media has opened many doors, created many new opportunities, and enabled countless people to receive real-time news feeds via Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. New media have also blurred the lines between personal and public information. Case in point, “spanking judge” William Adams is recorded by his 16-year-old daughter Hilary, spanking her for illegally downloading music and games from the Internet (Heinz, 2011). Seven years later, when Judge Adams tries to confiscate his daughter's Mercedes for misbehaving, Hilary posts the video on YouTube to teach her father (Heinz) a lesson. Although his daughter said she regrets posting the video, the damage done to her family is irreversible (Heinz). Considering examples like this the question of the creditworthiness of new media compared to traditional media sources arises. Despite Judge Adams' remorse for his actions and his apology to his daughter, he was publicly berated and humiliated. Publishing video content via YouTube is a simple and painless process, which for Hilary Adams took just a few clicks and her family's private life entered the international public domain. While abuse should never be tolerated, the transparency of social media sites prevents people from recovering from bad choices. These media sites can publicly reproduce situations that should have remained private, situations that would otherwise never have been seen. “The highly decentralized nature of the Internet makes it tempting for us to think of social activity in cyberspace as totally autonomous, free from the kinds of conventions that drive the production of traditional media forms” (Croteau, Hoynes, & Milan, 2012, p. 14). ..... half of the document ...... become the source of news, challenging and possibly replacing traditional sources. Works Cited Cloud, J. (2011 When Secrets go Viral Time 62.Croteau, D., Hoynes, W., & Milan, S. (2012). Judge William Adams accused of beating disabled daughter. Retrieved from: http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Texas -Judge-William-Adams-Accused-of-Beating-Disabled-Daughter-133090233.htmlRoettgers, J. (2011). Top YouTube channels rival cable audiences. Retrieved from, http://gigaom.com/video/youtube-vs-cable-stats/YouTube (2011). the city in Japan from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRDpTEjumdoYouTube (2011). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLu73iGs-Ws&feature=relative