CITIZEN JOURNALISMChristine McEdwards

the first thing you do is grab your camera to take a picture or video or pull out your cell phone and post a comment on Twitter or Facebook.

You see the

local

convenience

store burning

down

The local bank being robbed

…or see an

ambulance

speed past you

and…

That makes you a citizen journalist!

WHAT IS CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Non-journalists reporting information either by means of writing, blogging, video streaming, photography, analyzing or commentary.

Posting a video of a crime committed in your city onto YouTube, blogging about your thoughts of a newspaper article or attending a city meeting and reporting on it on your blog, even posting pictures of an event that has happened in your city are examples of citizen journalism

Citizen journalists report, collect and analyze news and information

It is created by communities instead of organizations who make no profit compared to the larger organizations who make millions

FOUR TYPES OF CITIZEN JOURNALISM

1. Sharing of photographs, videos, and audio Posting on blogs, Facebook and other social media sites

2. Sharing of opinions, Commenting on things you find online makes you become a citizen journalist by sharing your opinions with others

3. Sharing of discovery, andSharing information with the world after discovering news

4. Sharing of expertiseCreating a blog or doing a report on a topic you are knowledgeable on, even though you are not a journalist.

HISTORY BEHIND CITIZEN JOURNALISM

The first newspaper in North America was created in the 1690’s followed by many more shortly after

None of the reporters were professional. They were considered citizens who were passionate about something and decided to write about it. This is similar to the citizens of today who take photographs, write blogs and create videos to post.

In the year 2000, citizen journalism emerged by bloggers and commentators

Major milestones in citizen journalism which were caught on camera and published on a video sharing site include:

Kennedy Assassination, 1963Rodney King Beating, 1991World Trade center, 2001Columbia Shuttle Disaster, 2003London Subway Bombing, 2005Virginia Tech Shooting, 2007Hudson Landing, 2009

POSITIVE ASPECTS OF CITIZEN JOURNALISM

It allows citizens to feel more involved in the community by expressing their opinions, engaging with other social media users and contributing their thoughts and knowledge about a subject

POSITIVES ASPECTS OF CITIZEN JOURNALISM

You get the view from a regular day to day person, their thoughts and words, not edited material which is carefully revised to satisfy the company.

Anyone who has access to the internet is able to get their story out to the world by researching, creating a story, and reporting it. Photos and videos taken by everyday citizens are managing to make their way into the press.

They provide a more interesting version of the story instead of the scripted versions which newspapers publish

ON THE SCENE REPORTING

A great example which highlights the advantages of citizen journalism is the 9/11 terrorist attack. Just moments after the planes crashed into the World Trade Center, New York residents were the first to get the news out to the world by updating social media websites with photos, videos, and minute by minute coverage.

News reporters cannot always be on the scene when an event occurs especially if the event is unplanned. Citizen journalists alert the media when breaking news occurs and provide photos and videos while it is happening.

It helps broaden the events that are reported

CITIZEN JOURNALISM ON THE RISE

Many large news agencies are encouraging the use of citizen journalism by allowing audiences to post their thoughts at the end of news articles. Citizens can also comment online, call in, and some agencies have even created sections for citizen journalists to contribute their stories.

CNN is a great example. They have a section called iReport where the public can comment , share their stories and discuss issues with CNN

Posting online puts your knowledge and information out to a much larger audience.

NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Citizen journalism is taking over actual newspapers. Even though citizen journalism is the new easy and accessible social medial tool, not everyone has a computer or cell phone.Some people rely on the daily newspaper to find out current events and want to hear true news events rather than blog postings.

There can be quite a bit of controversy with citizen journalism. A lot of professional journalists believe that citizen journalists do not understand the work and accuracy that is involved in reporting the news. The main point of journalism is to keep an impartial and fair view, a lot of citizen journalists do not abide by that and add their opinions making the story a corrupted version of the truth.

NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Many people believe the information they find online to be trustworthy, especially if it is titled “news”. This leads the reader to believe the information is true even though it may lack credibility.

With this said, it may lead the readers to lose there confidence with the accuracy of the news altogether.

Citizen journalists lack the ability to separate evidence from speculation and opinion, as real journalists are trained to be cautious of those fabrications. Professional journalists are constantly referring to a large amount of credible sources in order to make sure their information is correct. Citizen journalists rarely check the authenticity of their sources and the readers have no way of knowing.

NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Citizen journalists seem to be putting themselves in dangerous situations in order to be the first on the scene to report the news such as the London riot.

Social media tools such as Flickr, Blottr, Instagram, and Citizen side show graphic photos of the riots from start to finish. Citizen journalists are putting themselves in the middle just to take a picture or video, risking their lives and taking the risk of being put in jail.

WHO CAN BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST

ANYONE!

By posting comments, writing on your blog, posting videos online, expressing your opinions or even taking photos and posting them online makes you a citizen journalist

As long as you have access to a social media tool and spread the word amongst people, you are considered a citizen journalist.

WHO CAN BE A CITIZEN JOURNALISTThere are a wide variety of citizen journalism sites:

Nowpublic – anyone can post an original story on different topics

Citizenwire – tons of different topics which report on news stories and peoples opinions as well as different sections for news in different states.

Digital Journal – A global digital media network that has news and articles on a wide variety of topics such as art, entertainment and traveling

WHO CAN BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST

There are non-professional reporting websites as well as the traditional news websites which feature a section for citizen journalists to reportA lot of people who have strong opinions on a topic become a citizen journalist by posting comments or blogs or posting on a video, audio or photo sharing website. It allows the expression of different views and opinions of people

WHY IS IT SIGNIFICANT? Hacker attacks are becoming more and more prevalent,

targeting large organizations and even news paper agencies.

Citizen journalism has become significant because it can report news temporarily while the newspaper agencies are recovering from a hack attack.

Citizen journalists can quite often be in places where professional journalists cant get to or may not have access to.

For example, a third world country having a natural disaster where all access if cut off, the citizen journalist can report right from the scene

Citizen journalists in war torn countries may have a better understanding and ability to relay the news than an outside journalist

REFERENCES

o Citizenwire. (n.d.). Citizenwire: News Stories and Opinions from Citizen Journalists. Retrieved on December 1, 2011, from http://citizenwire.com/

o Digital Journal. (n.d.). Digital Journal: A Global Digital Media Network. Retrieved on December 1, 2011, from http://digitaljournal.com/

o CNN. (n.d.). CNN iReport. Retrieved on December 1, 2011, from http://ireport.cnn.com/

o Forsloff, C. (2009, October 02). Op-ed: What is the Role and Value of Citizen Journalism?. Retrieved on November 28, 2011, from http://digitaljournal.com/article/279968

o Haddad, D. (2011). A Short History of Citizen Journalism. Retrieved from http://vimeo.com/27144532

o Kalter, L. (2011, August 08). Five Websites Where Citizen Journalists are Documenting Riots in London. Retrieved on November 30, 2011, from http://ijnet.org/blog/how-london-citizen-journalists-are-using-smart-phones-capture-riots \

o Now Public. (n.d.). Now Public. Retrieved on December 1, 2-11, from http://www.nowpublic.com/

o Ross, R. (2011, June 21). A Short History of Citizen Journalism. Retrieved on November 30, 2011, from http://ronaldross.sys-con.com/node/1880031

o Sambook, R 2008, 'Four Types of Citizen Journalism,' YouTube Video, retrieved on September 8, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrJH6TYVfmk

o Wikipedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia: Citizen journalism. Retrieved on November 30, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism

o Willis, C., Bowman, S. (2009, May 27). Citizen Journalism: The Key Trend Shaping Online News Media – Introductory Guide with Videos. Retrieved on November 18, 2011, from: http://www.masternewmedia.org/citizen-journalism-the-key-trend-shaping-online-news-media/

o YouTube. (n.d.). Citizen Journalism vs. Traditional News. Retrieved on December 2, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU5LonkXbCE&feature=player_embedded#at=21