With the dawn of the new era, the internet has become a huge essential part of our life. One particular significant event that has emerged from the internet, is the sprouting of what i like to call as citizen journalism. So what is Citizen Journalism you may ask?? :S
Citizen Journalism is when private individuals do essentially what professional reporters do – report information. That information can take many forms, from a podcast editorial to a report about a city council meeting on a blog. It can include text, pictures, audio and video. But it’s basically all about communicating information of some kind.
What i discovered about citizen journalism is that there are two different categories to it:
- semi-independent
- fully independent
Semi-Independent Citizen Journalism
This involves citizens contributing, in one form or another, to existing professional news sites.
- Readers posting their comments alongside stories done by professional reporters - essentially a 21st-century version of the letter to the editor. A growing number of news websites allow readers to post comments. In an effort to prevent obscene or objectionable messages, many websites require that readers register in order to post.
- Reader blogs that are incorporated into professional news websites. That can includes blogs in which readers critique how the news organization is performing.
Example:
Independent Citizen Journalism
This involves citizen journalists working in ways that are fully independent of traditional, professional news outlets.
- Blogs in which individuals can report on events in their communities or offer commentary on the issues of the day.
Example:
- Websites run by an individual or a group of people that report on news events in the local community. Some have editors and screen content, others do not. Some even have print editions.
Examples:
Daily HeightsMy only concern with citizen journalism is where is it the appropriate line to draw?? If everyone is to write their opinions about a certain issue, it is dangerous when that issue is highly sensitive and result in some form of unhappiness among the public. For example, take the local website, stomp. As can be seen from the website, there are occasional articles written by "stompers". However, at times fellow "stompers" may accuse the "stomper" who wrote the article as being too nosy and taking pictures that are inappropriate and that they should mind their own business.. For example, there was a particular post that i read where the "stomper" on the train had taken a picture of a guy who had taken a picture of a girl who wore a mini skirt without her permission. People started accusing the author as being as bad as the guy for taking pictures of him as well which makes one realise that even though the author's intention was to bring attention that there are sexual predators on trains, other people may not view in the same light.
This brings back the same question, where is the line that we should abide by?
This brings back the same question, where is the line that we should abide by?
2 comments:
This is an interesting and well considered post on citizen journalism. As you have pointed out, the impartiality of the perspective of the citizen journalist is called into question. This is not to say that print journalists are not suspect as well, but that in reading a piece of news, one must bear in mind whether the article presents the truth, or what the author sees as the truth. For instance, there are many online blogs that track the socio-political sphere in Singapore, but some may have a specific agenda. For instance, if you remember the molest incident at Sentosa beach, that incident came to light because someone posted the video on stomp after making the footage with her camera phone. However, one may question why the citizen journalist chose not to do anything about it in the moment, but only ex post facto. My own view is that citizen journalism is unavoidable, and is a good way of airing alternative views in new media. However, we must be circumspect about what we read.
Citizen journalism in my opinion is quite a problematic one. I beleieve that as much as the opinion of the man on the street matters,credibility is also important. It is therefore necessary for everyone partaking in the readership of these journalists, to be extra vigilant not to take them for credible source, but just what they are opinions on matters.
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