Thursday, April 22, 2010

Citizen journalism

Citizen journalism. Members of the public playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analysing and disseminating news and information.

New technologies mean that now you can tell your own truth in the media. Easy
Internet publishing tools, 24-hour connections and mobile devices mean that everyone's a potential journalist. 

Like blogger Michael Yon, whose non-commercial blogging in the front lines of the Iraq war became a key news source. 

News travels quicker with citizen journalism. Whereas journalists can't be everywhere all the time, people can.  Local news can go global and under-represented minority groups can have their say.

Social media are the first to report an event, like the Southern California earthquake tweet

Citizen journalism is immediate, it's pure and its real: just feel the fear of the Chilean earthquake on the footage published on
Youtube taken by an ordinary guy on his sofa when the trembles began.

Audiences tired of media bias see
citizen journalists as the innocent, independent newcomer, with new ideas on journalism and democracy and a love of truth.

Now information technology is in the hands of you and your neighbour, the possibilities are endless. Media futurists predict that by 2021, "citizens will produce 50 percent of the news peer-to-peer."

Peer a person who is an equal in social standing, rank, age, etc.
Peer-to-peer (or P2P) a communications model in which each party has the same capabilities and either party can initiate a communication session.
Bias a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation.
Newcomer a person who has recently arrived or started to participate in something

2 comments:

  1. How funny, Catherine! Just this morning I was editing an article about citizen journalism. JINX! I should have got you to write it in the first place! Speaking of which...

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  2. Congratulations for the blog, Catherine! :-)

    Pilar.

    ReplyDelete