Final Essay

Citizen Journalism: The way of the future?

On July 7th 2005, one of the biggest cities in the world stood still; history was made when London became another victim to a violent act of terrorism. The explosions from underneath the city were first thought of as power surges, but it was the photo taken by a citizen who was experiencing the attack which informed the word that the city of London was now a part of history and was under attack by terrorists.

In an age where technology is forever becoming more advanced the audience is becoming involved in telling the story rather than just receiving it (Ferrare & Lyon 2005). Society has evolved into an era of citizen journalism. Richard Sambrook of the BBC News Network said “when major events occur, the public can offer us as much new information as we are able broadcast to them; from now on, the news coverage is a partnership” (Sambrook 2005, p.1).

This essay with explore the term citizen journalism and what the term represents through focusing on the positive and negative effect it has had on newsgathering, the ethics of citizen journalism and what impact is has had on journalistic practices.

Shayne Bowman and Chris Willis authors of the 2003 report "We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information" define the concept of citizen journalism as everyday members of the public “playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analysing and disseminating new information” (Bowman & Willis 2003, p.7). Audiences which are equipped with constant web connections, web publishing tools and increasingly powerful mobile devices have the ability to become an active participant in the creation and distribution of news and information (Bowman & Willis 2003).

When America came under attack in the 9/11 terrorist attacks it generated the highest level of traffic to traditional news sites in the history of the web (Bowman & Willis 2003). The network sites were not technologically advanced enough to handle the demand of viewers seeking information. Ultimately consumers turned to email, blogs and forums to gather information or rather experience a commentary of what was happening during the 9/11 events, thus the era of citizen journalism was born (Bowman & Willis 2003).

Citizen journalism has become a social and cultural documentary practice among diverse publics (Allan & Thorsen 2009). The interactive nature of the web, allows the citizen to engage more deeply into the newsgathering process (Friend & Singer 2007). Various news organisation, have established open-source and distributed-reporting projects which are online collaborations between the readers and the reporters (Friend & Singer 2007). Open-source reporting is the process a reporter takes when they announce a topic under investigation and invite readers to contribute to the investigation.

Ethically projects such as open-source reporting often conjure up questions regarding the art of journalistic practice including accuracy, independence, minimising harm and verification (Friend & Singer 2007). There are several differing views when it comes to the concept of citizen journalism and whether the notion is in fact ethical. Ms Jan Schaffer explains that citizen journalists often do not like being referred to as journalists, that they are not embracing the journalistic culture but rather going against it (Schaffer 2005). iReport.com is a web-based program established by CNN which relies entirely on stories submitted by ordinary members of the public. The launch of iReport.com in 2006 was reported as a remarkably popular tool for information and alternative news and was credited for having made important contributions to the breaking of news (Allan & Thorsen 2009).

iReport.com and the CNN received constant praise until a fabricated story was uploaded involving the CEO of Apple suffering a heart attack which forced the stock price of Apple to spiral to a 17 month first time low. The posting of this totally fabricated story on iReport.com caused citizen journalism to become the concept of intense scrutiny and the credibility of iReport.com was shaken (Allan & Thorsen 2009).

Through the advancements in technology and the introduction of the internet, the tools for researching and reporting have altered thus affecting the process of newsgathering. Through the introduction of network sites such as iReport.com the role of the journalist as gatekeeper and informer of accurate information became more difficult. The most crucial role of a journalist when producing effective news content is to interpret, filter and add context to the information been produced (Ward 2002). The traditional goal of a journalist is to be objective. Citizen journalists traditionally are involved within the topic they are writing about which raises the question of whether a citizen journalist can be impartial to a topic.

With the advancement of citizen journalism the process of newsgathering by professional journalists has changed. John Herbert states that “anyone can put anything on the internet” (Herbert 2000, p.2). It has become crucial for a journalists researching on the internet to confirm that they are receiving their news from a reliable source. However, whilst many may argue that the internet is not a legitimate source for information, the fact still remains that the internet provides information from various news sources, with multiple perspectives told in a wide variety of different ways. As society becomes more technologically advanced and citizens become more reliant on the internet as a news source, viewers will be able to recognise the reliable, credible content of the sources that are available online.

During a time of crisis, people feel compelled to document events as they unfold by taking photos. While there is much scepticism over the introduction and increased popularity of citizen journalism, the fact still remains that participants of the citizen journalism culture have been the first to inform the world to events taking place. BBC reported the events of the London bombings through information arriving from the public. More than 1,000 photos, 20 pieces of amateur video, 4,000 text messages and over 20,000 emails were received within six hours of the attacks on London (Sambrook 2005).

In conclusion citizen journalism is a concept that will gain more popularity as society becomes become technologically evolved. While there are facts to support both sides of the ethical debate over citizen journalism, the line between reporter and receiver as dissolved and as Richard Sambrook of the BBC News Network said the news coverage is now a partnership (Sambrook 2005).

Reference List

Allan, S & Thorsen, E 2009. Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives, Peter Lang Publishing Inc, New York

Bowman, S & Willis, C, 2003, ‘We Media: How audiences are shaping the future of news and information’ The Media Centre, viewed 20 October 2010 via http://www.hypergene.net/wemedia/download/we_media.pdf

Friend, C & Singger, J 2007. Online Journalism Ethics: Traditions and Transitions, M.E.Sharpe Inc, New York

Herbert, J 2000. Journalism in the Digital Age: Theory and Practice for Broadcast, Print and On-line Media, Reed Educational and Professional Publishing Ltd, Oxford

Sambrook, R 2005, Citizen Journalism and the BBC, viewed 30 September 2010, via www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=100542

Schaffer, J 2005, Citizens Media: Has it Reached a Tipping Point?, viewed 30 September 2010, via www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitemprint.aspx?id=100565

Ward, M 2002. Journalism Online, Elsevier Science Ltd, London

Bibliography

Bainbridge, J Goc, N & Tynan L 2008. Media and Journalism: New Approaches to Theory and Practice, Oxford University Press, New York

Dunleavy, D 2005, Camera Phones Prevail: Citizen Shutterbugs and the London Bombings, viewed 20 October 2010, via www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0507/dunleavy.html

Ferrara, L & Lyon, S 2005, With Citizens’ Visual News Coverage Standards Don’t Change, viewed 30 September 2010, via www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsiteemprint.aspx?id=100561

Foust, J 2005. Online Journalism: Principles and Practices of News for the Web, Holcomb Hathaway, Arizona

Goodbye New Comm Tech Blog

Well it is an end of an era, goodbye to a chapter, so long and farewell!!

As I write my final entry I look back on the journey that has been my New Communications Technology Blog - and what a journey it has been.

To be totally and completely honest, the only reason I enrolled in New Comm Tech was because I didn't have a choice. For a Bachelor of Communication it was a pre-requisite. To be even more honest, if I didn't HAVE to choose it, I probably wouldn't have.

Now, this isn't saying I didn't like the course or I didn't find it beneficial, I am really just not that interested in technology. However, I did learn a great deal of useful information and I now look a aspects of technology and the Internet in a different light, for example Facebook.

The social networking world is becoming bigger and bigger as the years go on, and when I (eventually) finish university, I suspect I will need a a vast understanding of the Social Media world, which I now have.

The only element of the course which I honestly really didn't like was the concept of Culture Jamming. I do not think that we should be encouraged to write fabricated information. I think, being a journalism major, it totally goes against the ethics that I learn in my other classes. I understand why we are made aware of it, however I do not think we should HAVE to participate in the culture.

I would like to thank Jules and Kaya - you are both great and very helpful (and extremely patient)

Week 6 - Media, New Media, Social Media

The internet is a tool that has come to be an intricate element to the function of day to day life in today's society. The internet first began as an educational tool and has transformed into the multifunctional device it is today. We have now moved into an era of Web 2.0.

The bursting of the dot.com bubble in 2001 marked a turning point for the web and the new era of the Web world began. The concept of Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that provide interactive information sharing on the World Wide Web. The term first began during a brainstorming concept between Tim O'Reilly and MediaLive International. After the crash of the Web, O’Reilly together with his ‘high tech’ friends believed that the web was still more important as ever, thus the Web.20 was born.

In an online article by Exforsys Inc entitled Advantages and Disadvantages of Web 2.0 defined Web 2.0 in a very simplistic manner, “Web 2.0 is a system in which online users become participants rather than mere viewers” (http://www.exforsys.com/tutorials/web-2.0/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-web-2.0.html).

Web 2.0 allows for information to be accessed and personalised to meet the needs of the individual user. Web 2.0 allows for mass population to communicate with each other. The advantage of this is that information has the ability to flow freely and ideas can be expressed without the fear of repression. Exforsys Inc describes the internet through Web 2.0 as a true democratic system, a digital democracy. Society has the ability to access information from more than one source, thus becoming a more informed society. An example of this is the reading of newspapers all around the world. You have the ability to read several newspapers which comprises of different information and different views.

The internet is no longer available on a ‘read-only’ basis, it now provides user-generated content in a virtual community.

Examples of Web 2.0 include social-networking sites, blogs, video-sharing sites, web applications and mashups.

http://oreilly.com/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html