Citizen journalism is an interesting concept. I was discussing my university course with a friend of mine and mentioned this subject to see whether he could give me any insight into the ‘general’ opinion of citizen journalism and how he thinks it works. He brought up a really interesting point and mentioned the fact that it shouldn’t be called ‘journalism’ as the term does not connect with what is actually being written.
"Citizen journalism is a concept that advances the idea that consumers or everyday citizens take a more active role in the news. It is often referred to as the “new media” and includes everything from passionate letters to the editor and comments on blogs and news sites, to bloggers scooping stories or exposing doctored or omitted facts from mainstream media reports. The sharing and collaboration of information through online communities is inevitably part of building common viewpoints between citizens " (Holetzky, 2008).
Speaking with this friend of mine he brought up the question of, instead of citizen journalism it should be referred to as ‘citizens using other’s hard earned research to re write and claim as their own’.
He ignited a question in me that made me thing that the majority of citizen journalism should be referred to as meta-journalism reporting on existing reports.
After igniting these questions, I decided to conduct research into this subject. Technology obviously plays a large part in the distribution of this knowledge and without it; this concept would merely be a theory. Citizen Journalism and technology enable people to communicate their theories and opinions with speed. This phenomenon is starting a new trend where news coverage is considered to be a partnership between journalists and citizens.
"Journalism is also significantly transforming under the pressure of network-era convergent and participatory culture. Evolving digital communication tools and practices are clashing with those of traditional news media, resulting in paradox and contradiction" (Russell et al, 2006).
This online adoption of journalism can also be a very positive thing. Enabling stories, pictures and events to be released that may not have normally been captured with traditional forms of journalism.
“People are everywhere and when disaster strikes, someone usually has a camera” (Cohn, 2007).
Citizen Journalism, when handled properly can be a very positive and useful thing. It adds the ability to share information and allows everyday people to capture and write about extraordinary things.
After speaking with my friend and reminding him of all of the positives that come out of citizen journalism, he then turns around and tells me that he always thought it was a great thing to be involved in. Making me feel like all of this research and attempting to understand this concept was all done for nothing.
I now appreciate how ridiculous people sometimes are and how, with just a little nudge for a new opinion, they change their minds in an instant.
References
Cohn, D. (2007). Time citizen journalism pulled its acts together. http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=39443 (accessed May 8, 2008).
Holetzky , S. (2008). What is Citizen Journalism. Wise Geek. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-citizen-journalism.htm
Russell, A et al. (2006). Cuture: Networked Public Culture. http://networkedpublics.org/book/culture (accessed 12 May, 2008).
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1 comment:
Funny blog. I like what you are saying except one thing; "Instead of citizen journalism it should be referred to as ‘citizens using other’s hard earned research to re write and claim as their own’." Isn't this what we are doing when we are writing assignments at uni? We are collecting other peoples work and we're using it to strengthen our views on certain themes. We need other peoples research to make our work credible.
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