Hello MGN bloggers, I hope you're all busy working on the final project. This has been a very interesting and intensive class. I meant to post this last night, I'm not sure how many check the blog on the weekend. I wanted to share some insights on Microsoft Word, the program we're submitting our papers in. I've never been a fan of Microsoft products but, after working in it for this class, have a new respect. Maybe all of you are familiar with the various aspects of this program, but if there's anyone else out there like me, there are some features that will make it easier to format and write this paper.
This is a word processing program so there are obviously formatting options built in for type style, variation, line spacing, and indenting. This has built in style sheets that you can change too depending on what part of the paper you're working on. The Help tab is actually pretty good at explaining what, where and how to use the features.
One of the best time savers is Word's Document Elements tabs where you can automatically insert Table of Contents, Headers, Footers and Bibliographies. You can create a Citation (it's in the Toolbox on the menu bar), choose what citation style you'd like to use (MLA, APA), click on the Plus sign to create a new source, set your type of source (Book, report, web site, film, etc.) and the fields will show up to tell you what is recommended for this particular source. You just type in all the info, click OK and your citation will show up in the Citations list. You can format the citations with an exact style (hanging indents, type style, etc.) and then at the end, just click on the Document Elements to create a Bibliography with your listed citations. You will need to then go into the Bibliography and annotate them.
These features have saved me quite a bit of time and they keep your document, citations and formatting consistent and looking good.
It is good sometimes to get out of your comfort zones. Good luck with your papers!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Traditional Versus Cyber Media
In this modern era, it is easy to think that everything is easily replaceable. Longevity seems to elude almost everything. In just the past fifteen years, the most popular medium for watching movies at home has gone from VHS, to DVD, to Blu-Ray, to 3D. Cassettes were replaced with CDs which were replaced with iPods. Magazines are folding faster across the board. In such an environment, smart money would say that yes, everything will soon be replaced. And yet, while I may eat my words if someone shows me this in another fifteen years, traditional media could never really be replaced by cyber media.
Cyber media has become a very important tool in recent years, drawing attention to issues that the traditional media couldn't touch. Such was the case in Iran recently, where citizen journalists have been the only source of news of the political unrest, as journalists were too heavily censored[1]. Thanks to citizen journalists with camera phones, we are provided with plenty of footage of peaceful demonstrations and the brutality inflicted by Iranian officials.
But in that same example of the videos coming out of Iran, we see the problem with cyber journalism. While the videos collected are incredibly important, they're blurry, hard to follow, unorganized, and often lack almost any clear facts in terms of clear figures, times, names, etc. This is often also the problem with Blogs. They're typically tailored to a much smaller audience than the mainstream media[2]. Thus, it's easy for them to be much more extreme. In addition, they're held to a lesser standard that traditional media. While traditional media is far from perfect when it comes to reporting facts instead of fiction, blogs are usually even worse, being unmonitored and ungoverned. Most blogs are simply passionate people saying what they believe[3].
Despite the faults of cyber media and citizen journalism, their usefulness in bring to light issues otherwise ignored or off limits cannot be denied. Because of this, many traditional media outlets have begun incorporating elements of cyber media and citizen journalism into their framework, with "I-reporting" segments and hosting their own blogs[4].
A yahoo with a camera phone or someone with too much time on their hands and a blog will never be a substitute for a real journalist. As time goes on the value of cyber journalism becomes more and more apparent, and cyber journalism will continue to grow. But it could never really replace the traditional established media, due to it's slow, clunky, inaccurate nature.
[1] For Neda: English. Directed by Antony Thomas. Youtube.com, 2010. Web.
Cyber media has become a very important tool in recent years, drawing attention to issues that the traditional media couldn't touch. Such was the case in Iran recently, where citizen journalists have been the only source of news of the political unrest, as journalists were too heavily censored[1]. Thanks to citizen journalists with camera phones, we are provided with plenty of footage of peaceful demonstrations and the brutality inflicted by Iranian officials.
But in that same example of the videos coming out of Iran, we see the problem with cyber journalism. While the videos collected are incredibly important, they're blurry, hard to follow, unorganized, and often lack almost any clear facts in terms of clear figures, times, names, etc. This is often also the problem with Blogs. They're typically tailored to a much smaller audience than the mainstream media[2]. Thus, it's easy for them to be much more extreme. In addition, they're held to a lesser standard that traditional media. While traditional media is far from perfect when it comes to reporting facts instead of fiction, blogs are usually even worse, being unmonitored and ungoverned. Most blogs are simply passionate people saying what they believe[3].
Despite the faults of cyber media and citizen journalism, their usefulness in bring to light issues otherwise ignored or off limits cannot be denied. Because of this, many traditional media outlets have begun incorporating elements of cyber media and citizen journalism into their framework, with "I-reporting" segments and hosting their own blogs[4].
A yahoo with a camera phone or someone with too much time on their hands and a blog will never be a substitute for a real journalist. As time goes on the value of cyber journalism becomes more and more apparent, and cyber journalism will continue to grow. But it could never really replace the traditional established media, due to it's slow, clunky, inaccurate nature.
[1] For Neda: English. Directed by Antony Thomas. Youtube.com, 2010. Web.
[2] Valeriu, Dornescu Ioan. "The Relation Between Blogging and Mass Media". International Conference on Virtual Learning. Vol. 1 (2006), 4. Web.
[3] Gill, Kathy E. "How Can We Measure the Influence of the Blogosphere?". Department of Communications, Washington University. (2004), 4. Web.
[4] Valeriu, Dornescu Ioan. "The Relation Between Blogging and Mass Media". International Conference on Virtual Learning. Vol. 1 (2006), 6. Web.
Citizen journalism or middle-class citizen journalism?
“It is a privileged position to be able to reflect on what is happening around you. Most people are just having to live it.” - Susan Fleischmann, The Executive director Cambridge Community Television[1].
If only that 14 year old could tell the world how raw her heart is from watching her family being hacked to death and all the years of rape and abuse her little premature body suffered, I bet the world would listen. Or if the world had looked into that young girl’s eyes as she recounted the day some of her friends who were too tired to walk, or those who had tried to resist being raped again, were hacked to death, cooked and fed to the rest[3]; I bet the world would have listened. Even though I didn’t understand her language, her labored facial expressions spoke directly to me in clearer words than the translator could muster. If only she had had a camera phone on that fateful day or the UN peace keepers had been able to get a clue from a panicky ‘twit’ from one of the teenagers. In such a world, sans newspapers, TVs, internet and the blogosphere, citizen journalism can only ‘come’ to the people[4]. In the words of Jakana Stucky, a fellow blogger; Citizen journalism is indeed "a predominantly middle class culture"[5].
Ironically, although I grew up in Uganda, the closest I got to any accurate picture of the civil war in Northern Uganda was from four formerly abducted children that came to speak at my church. My American friends were surprised that I was almost as shocked by the content of “The Invisible children” documentary as they were. But again, it’s not surprising because dictatorships always have a firm grip on what makes the news and “nosy” journalists have a really high mortality rate in Uganda[6].
Despite the limitations of citizen journalism, “The Invisible children” documentary is evidence that it can done anywhere as long as there is someone at that time and in that place, that is ably equipped to share their story. Unlike the traditional journalists and media houses that may be barred or bound by censorship, citizen journalism follows the pulse of the citizens, covering that which they care about and want to be heard. Victoria Grand, the Head of Communications & Policy at YouTube compared phone cameras to swords, in reference to the camera wielding protesters on the streets of Tehran following President Ahmadinejad’s 2009 ‘election’. In the face of bullets and the brutal police, the protesters were armed with cameras instead. Neda’s death wasn’t caught on tape by a media house. It was the video clips from cell phone cameras that rallied an international effort to speak truth to power in Iran. Her steady gaze into the camera in her last minutes spoke more volumes than the most eloquent pinstripe-suited anchor on any media channel.
Citizen journalism is a truly empowering tool gifted upon us by technology and the advent of the internet. It gives regular middle class citizens the rare opportunity to voice their opinions, share stories or rally support for causes they care about. Over the years, citizen journalism has evolved from pamphlets to video blogs, iReports, YouTube videos and Twitter updates. The ultimate power of citizen journalism lies in the fact that the citizens can participate in authoring the content of the news.
If only the people of Northern Uganda had cell phone cameras the day the LRA rebels massacred 121 at Balonyo in the most brutal and inhumane manner. Or perhaps the images of the people whose lips and ears had just been cut off by the LRA rebels would have caught the world’s attention like in Neda's case. May be the intrinsic kindness of humanity would have been evoked in solidarity to draw international attention to northern Uganda and pressure the Ugandan government to do more to protect the helpless, especially the children. With Uganda's general election coming up in a month’s time, I can only hope that the middle class citizens rise up to the occasion and head out armed with their camera phones and blackberries, ready to report live at the scene of any injustice.
If only there was an avenue for those below the middle class to participate in this discourse in real time too.
[1] This was a comment Susan Fleischmann, The Executive director Cambridge Community Television made about citizen journalist in a YouTube video, “Citizen Journalism, What is it?”, 2006. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58iZpMRclwI Web. Jan 20, 2011
[2] The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group led by Joseph Kony, are the pertuators of the 24 year old civil war in Northern Uganda that has resulted in the abductution of over 80,000 children and internally displaced people by the millions since the rebels took to the Bush in 1986.This is particularly close to my heart because I grew up in the Capital city(Kampala) which is only 6 hours by bus from the site of these atrocities. I consider myself lucky because it could have been me with 3 children at 16.
[3] This is a short clip on my time in Uganda.http://www2.binghamton.edu/ar/being-transformed-by-transforming-lives.html Web. Jan 20, 2011
[4] Like the three American film students from Southern Carlifornia that decided to go to Africa in search of a story in spring 2003, only to end up becoming an international voice for the child soldiers in Northern Uganda. They have since created a not-for-profit organisation called ‚‘‘The Invisible Children‘‘, named after the documentary they made on their maiden trip. http://www.invisiblechildren.com/undefined. Web. Jan 20, 2011
[5] This was further elaborated by Jakana Stucky in the YouTube clip“Citizen Journalism,What is it?”, 2006. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58iZpMRclwI Web. Jan 20, 2011
Jakana Stucky is also an author and avid blogger(http://www.blogger.com/profile/07909018947379157942) Web. Jan 20, 2011.
[6] http://www.demotix.com/welcome:
. http://www.demotix.com/news/562702/journalists-injured-uganda-presidential-campaign
I was pleased to come across this website. Its all about citizen journalism and they also had images and news from election related violence towards journalists in Uganda(second link). There are images from Uganda that wouldnt appear in any news paper because of the governement’s censorship of the news.
Discussion: A world without ''traditional media'', , Social network dynamics within a “productive” global narrative vs an un productive event
Discussion: A world without “traditional” media?
“People lack many things: jobs, shelter, food, healthcare and drinkable water. Today, being cut off from basic telecommunications services is a hardship almost as acute as these other deprivations, and may indeed reduce the chances of finding remedies to them.” - Kofi Anan.[1]
Discussion: Social network dynamics within a “productive” global narrative vs an un productive event/issue.
The Oxford dictionary definition of the term “productive” is: “achieving or producing a significant amount or result”, and that is the context in which it is applied in this discussion. Like the law in a democracy, I believe that the strength of a comprehensive definition lies in its objectivity. [3] Despite what I think of Lady Gaga’s eccentric style as an example of an unproductive media event, her style, along with the rest of the celebrity culture world has become an increasingly common media experience that clamors for our attention, just like the productive media events. Thankfully, news on such unproductive events doesn’t usually propagate into global discourse like the international response to a narrative like Neda’s murder[4]. I am yet to see the day’s news disrupted by 'breaking news' on what Lady Gaga is wearing. God forbid the world ever pays such media events anymore attention that they are getting now. Perhaps there will be less people releasing sex tapes as a get-famous-quick ploy, or making money off not-so-glossy topics like teenage pregnancy[5] if such media events didn't gun so much attention. Nevertheless, the strength of the definition of a media event as stated by Hepp and Couldry definitely lies in its objective nature.
[1] Norris, Pippa: Information Poverty and the Wired World. The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, Volume 5, Number 3, Summer 2000. Pages 2
USA, France, England, Germany are examples of the post industrial economies being referenced here.
[4]Thomas, Anthony: For Neda, 2010. HB0 Documentary.
http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/for-neda/synopsis.html Web. Jan 20th 2011.
[5] Even if you don’t watch the show on teenage mums, these young girls have been propped into the lime light by glossy paged magazines in any grocery store and gas station in America. It’s a topic that many adults are so opinionated about but one can only wonder what message the teenage girls might be taking from the fame of these teenage mothers.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Citizen Journalism
Citizen journalism allows people whom are untrained in journalism, to express their thoughts and ideas on local news and happenings around the world. This type of journalism may include regularly-updated blogs or even YouTube videos. The trained journalists often see the citizen journalists as amateurs, though many of those properly trained continue to maintain blogs of their own (Glaser).
One very common problem within citizen journalism is the ability for fake information to be spread throughout the internet. A gateway for fake information seems to be the Wikipedia news site, where anyone can post or edit the news stories (Outing). This type of news site seems to be a work in progress, with attempts to balance out the act of allowing citizen journalism while still maintaining the truth. Steve Outing mentions the potentials for news such as obituaries where friends an family may edit, but what happens when this ability falls into the wrong hands?
When comparing CyberMedia against traditional media, the ideas of paper news paper versus online version comes into play. With the daily (paper) newspaper, readers expect the articles to include facts. Newspapers are full of articles researched and written by trained journalists, while CyberMedia may include these same articles as well as articles by citizen journalists. CyberMedia and traditional media are both give and take systems for the reader: take the facts and wait until the paper is printed, versus searching through the opinions and ideas but have the ability to read updated news 24/7.
A world without traditional media does not seem very far-fetched. Although I personally would rather read an actual newspaper, nine times out of ten it is just not feasible for me. CyberMedia allows for readers to find the news when they're free to do so, often without a charge. Why pay $1.00 for a newspaper when one can read the same articles for free online and save a tree or two? Though I can imagine no longer having newspapers, the idea of no more news channels on television or radio seems frightening. If there were a disaster, the television and radio are common places to turn for news and information.
Glaser, Mark. "Your Guide to Citizen Journalism." PBS Online. 27 Sept. 2006. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.
Outing, Steve. "The 11 Layers of Citizen Journalism." The Poynter Institute. 31 May. 2005. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.
One very common problem within citizen journalism is the ability for fake information to be spread throughout the internet. A gateway for fake information seems to be the Wikipedia news site, where anyone can post or edit the news stories (Outing). This type of news site seems to be a work in progress, with attempts to balance out the act of allowing citizen journalism while still maintaining the truth. Steve Outing mentions the potentials for news such as obituaries where friends an family may edit, but what happens when this ability falls into the wrong hands?
When comparing CyberMedia against traditional media, the ideas of paper news paper versus online version comes into play. With the daily (paper) newspaper, readers expect the articles to include facts. Newspapers are full of articles researched and written by trained journalists, while CyberMedia may include these same articles as well as articles by citizen journalists. CyberMedia and traditional media are both give and take systems for the reader: take the facts and wait until the paper is printed, versus searching through the opinions and ideas but have the ability to read updated news 24/7.
A world without traditional media does not seem very far-fetched. Although I personally would rather read an actual newspaper, nine times out of ten it is just not feasible for me. CyberMedia allows for readers to find the news when they're free to do so, often without a charge. Why pay $1.00 for a newspaper when one can read the same articles for free online and save a tree or two? Though I can imagine no longer having newspapers, the idea of no more news channels on television or radio seems frightening. If there were a disaster, the television and radio are common places to turn for news and information.
Glaser, Mark. "Your Guide to Citizen Journalism." PBS Online. 27 Sept. 2006. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.
Outing, Steve. "The 11 Layers of Citizen Journalism." The Poynter Institute. 31 May. 2005. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.
Citzen Journalism and Traditional journalism
Citizen journalism can be looked at people participating in or reporting the news. In this day and age this is made easy because of all of the outlets people have. If people have a cell phone with text messaging or the internet they can participate in citizen journalism. So many people in the world now have a cell phone (or two) that they can take pictures and send to each other. With the internet on phones now becoming a growing necessity with many people. Now with all of the things that are offered with phones people are able to communicate with each other twenty-four hours of the day seven days a week. This also makes it possible to keep track of everything that happens in their lives, and the lives of others. People can document the happenings in every day because of all of the technology that is available to them, whereas years ago people had to write things down on paper and document things that way, which is called traditional journalism.
Citizen journalism as stated above could be anything that is documented and released to the world or any amount of people for that matter. With the creation of cell phones and the capabilities they have citizen journalism has become easier over the years, which also means that the growth of the citizen journalism industry is growing as well and traditional journalism is decreasing. This is good for some people but bad for the majority of the major journalism places. In today’s society people have to fight to get the news out first. Many newspapers or television stations compete to be the first to report something, though it is becoming a struggle with all of the people reporting it from their cell phones. People can record a video on their phone and send it out in an email or post it online and that would be reporting it, which means it is citizen journalism. Though the regular people that are posting videos or stories online via phone won’t necessarily get the validity that the news stations get; when people watch the news or read the paper they are reading it because it is a valid source. Whereas when people read things posted by other people online they may question whether or not it is valid, and this would create one con for citizen journalism.
There are many pros for citizen journalism and most are discussed above. To restate the pros would be being able to report the news as it is happening from your cell phone. People wouldn’t need to wait to read the newspaper to see what is happening or what has happened in previous days. Even since the creation of the television citizen journalism has been around. With the growing advances in technology the news around the world can get reported within seconds of it happening with cell phones.
Though, one could argue that citizen journalism is not as reliable as traditional journalism. Traditional journalism has more merit behind the stories that they are reporting. There is more research and truth that is found within the traditional journalism stories. When people report for newspapers they actually talk to sources to find what is really going on and the reasons behind it. They just don’t report what is going on; they go in depth to make sure that their stories have validity to a certain story. In most cultures the traditional media or journalism is starting to fade, which is a shame because a lot of the stories that are reported are great stories and ones that take a lot of time to prepare. It may seem as though people aren’t interested in the stories that were researched they care more about the citizen type of journalism. Though, citizen journalism is very convenient, it may not be as reliable as traditional journalism.
Citizen journalism as stated above could be anything that is documented and released to the world or any amount of people for that matter. With the creation of cell phones and the capabilities they have citizen journalism has become easier over the years, which also means that the growth of the citizen journalism industry is growing as well and traditional journalism is decreasing. This is good for some people but bad for the majority of the major journalism places. In today’s society people have to fight to get the news out first. Many newspapers or television stations compete to be the first to report something, though it is becoming a struggle with all of the people reporting it from their cell phones. People can record a video on their phone and send it out in an email or post it online and that would be reporting it, which means it is citizen journalism. Though the regular people that are posting videos or stories online via phone won’t necessarily get the validity that the news stations get; when people watch the news or read the paper they are reading it because it is a valid source. Whereas when people read things posted by other people online they may question whether or not it is valid, and this would create one con for citizen journalism.
There are many pros for citizen journalism and most are discussed above. To restate the pros would be being able to report the news as it is happening from your cell phone. People wouldn’t need to wait to read the newspaper to see what is happening or what has happened in previous days. Even since the creation of the television citizen journalism has been around. With the growing advances in technology the news around the world can get reported within seconds of it happening with cell phones.
Though, one could argue that citizen journalism is not as reliable as traditional journalism. Traditional journalism has more merit behind the stories that they are reporting. There is more research and truth that is found within the traditional journalism stories. When people report for newspapers they actually talk to sources to find what is really going on and the reasons behind it. They just don’t report what is going on; they go in depth to make sure that their stories have validity to a certain story. In most cultures the traditional media or journalism is starting to fade, which is a shame because a lot of the stories that are reported are great stories and ones that take a lot of time to prepare. It may seem as though people aren’t interested in the stories that were researched they care more about the citizen type of journalism. Though, citizen journalism is very convenient, it may not be as reliable as traditional journalism.
Citizen Journalism vs. Traditional Media
Citizen journalism falls into a broad spectrum of meanings. Citizen journalism consists of unedited, live footage and information. Some people feel citizen journalism is too real and unedited for the public view. The footage is usually filmed with less than average equipment, creating the film to be shaky or blurry; the sound quality is usually not good either.
People rely so much on traditional and even cyber media. Without traditional television or internet media, the public would probably be lost because that is where basic news comes from. The traditional media is also much quicker to broadcast news and footage than individual people filming news events. The quality of the footage is also much better with traditional media because of the high quality equipment used. The use of cyber media is increasing, but it is obvious traditional media is still the first choice in finding out information quickly.
Citizen Journalism vs. Cyber Media
Citizen journalism is the concept of members of the public “playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing ad disseminating news and information” [1] This concept, by authors Bowman and Willis, shows that the purpose of this involvement in providing reliable, accurate, relevant and independence information needed for a democratic country. Citizen journalism does not require the reporter to be a professional journalist nor does it require the reporter to have professional training. A freelance journalist, Mark Glaser, once wrote,
The idea behind citizen journalism is that people without professional journalism training can use the tools of modern technology and the global distribution of the Internet to create, augment or fact-check media on their own or in collaboration with others. [2]
Cyber media does not necessarily require news updates to be written by a professional. However the advantage of cyber media is its immediacy. Nowadays most people check news online because it’s the fastest place to read up on the latest updates. It’s easily accessible and you can review multiple sources at the same time to determine the relevance and accuracy. What I think is the amazing thing about cyber media is the fact that you can compare difference news coverage around the world to receive the most accurate piece or news.
[1] Bowman, S. and Willis, C. We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information. The Media Center at the American Press Institute. 2003. Print.
[2] Mark Glaser. "Your Guide to Citizen Journalism". Public Broadcasting Service. http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2006/09/your-guide-to-citizen-journalism270.html. Retrieved March 22, 2009.
Citizen journalism, cyber media, and traditional media
Citizen journalism ranges from a person recording an event on their phone and then releasing it publicly to a person watching something happen and then writing about it. One positive thing about this is that the information is typically a first-hand account, which is good because it is very accurate. In addition, because the articles are written by average people, they tend to be easy for other average people to understand. However, there are some downfalls of citizen journalism. One such downfall is that because the information is written by average people, it doesn’t follow certain rules. For example, if a person has never written professionally, it is unlikely that they will write a literarily good piece on a drastic event they saw happen. Even good writers sometimes find it hard to about events that happen directly to them.
The difference between traditional media and cyber media is how the media is seen. Traditional media is media found through newspapers and radio stations. Cyber media is media found over the internet. While traditional media does have its benefits, cyber media has the benefit of being a fast way of communicating. Yet, cyber media is still held on a lower level than traditional media in terms of accuracy. Newspapers and such are counted on to be completely accurate all the time. Cyber media, however, is thought of to be biased towards one side of the story.
I personally can not imagine a world without “traditional” media because it has become such an integral part of society. When you think of a morning for the average American family, you think of the kids eating breakfast, the mom getting ready, and the dad sitting at the table reading the paper. This part of the life of society just doesn’t disappear. Although newspapers are losing profits because they aren’t as popular, I feel that they will always be part of our society.
The difference between traditional media and cyber media is how the media is seen. Traditional media is media found through newspapers and radio stations. Cyber media is media found over the internet. While traditional media does have its benefits, cyber media has the benefit of being a fast way of communicating. Yet, cyber media is still held on a lower level than traditional media in terms of accuracy. Newspapers and such are counted on to be completely accurate all the time. Cyber media, however, is thought of to be biased towards one side of the story.
I personally can not imagine a world without “traditional” media because it has become such an integral part of society. When you think of a morning for the average American family, you think of the kids eating breakfast, the mom getting ready, and the dad sitting at the table reading the paper. This part of the life of society just doesn’t disappear. Although newspapers are losing profits because they aren’t as popular, I feel that they will always be part of our society.
Citizen Journalism
With the invention and widespread acceptance of the cellular phone, the citizens of the world became slaves to instant gratification overnight (at least the cell phone owning population). Once phone companies added cameras and internet access to the cellphone, people instantly gained the ability to communicate whatever they were experiencing to the rest of the world at any time, day or night, as long as they were in an area with good reception. This ability to record and broadcast anything they saw anytime they wanted led to the rapid growth of Citizen Journalism. No longer were major news networks and newspapers the complete monopoly in terms of reporting the news.
Citizen Journalism presents a great boon for a global population that is information hungry but limited in resources, as people no longer need to wait for a story to make it to a major news network. Within hours or even minutes of any major event where there are people present, assuming that at least 1 person has a phone, that event will be posted and re-posted all over the internet. While this may seem like an extra convenience for an impatient audience, in countries like China where the government has complete control over all major news sources this comes as a means of salvation for those craving the whole uncensored truth. Unfortunately, this innovation comes with some downsides that are inevitable when dealing with a medium that accepts unverified input from thousands of people. Unlike many major news organizations, there is almost no way to verify the information gleaned from citizen journalists, and no way for the layman to tell if the shaky footage they are seeing from a camera phone is accurately portraying the scene it claims to be.
Although citizen journalism solves a lot of the problems that traditional journalism is unable to, there is and probably always will be a place in this world for traditional journalism and traditional news media outlets. Traditional forms of journalism like newspapers and news stations on television add a certain degree of professionalism and, much more importantly, credibility to the news that they present. However, in order to survive in this new global age, where the population is becoming more and more moderate, biased news outlets such as MSNBC and FOX need to stop inserting their opinions into their broadcasts, and just focus on reporting what people all over the world actually want: Information. Preferably in the form of the truth.
Citizen Journalism presents a great boon for a global population that is information hungry but limited in resources, as people no longer need to wait for a story to make it to a major news network. Within hours or even minutes of any major event where there are people present, assuming that at least 1 person has a phone, that event will be posted and re-posted all over the internet. While this may seem like an extra convenience for an impatient audience, in countries like China where the government has complete control over all major news sources this comes as a means of salvation for those craving the whole uncensored truth. Unfortunately, this innovation comes with some downsides that are inevitable when dealing with a medium that accepts unverified input from thousands of people. Unlike many major news organizations, there is almost no way to verify the information gleaned from citizen journalists, and no way for the layman to tell if the shaky footage they are seeing from a camera phone is accurately portraying the scene it claims to be.
Although citizen journalism solves a lot of the problems that traditional journalism is unable to, there is and probably always will be a place in this world for traditional journalism and traditional news media outlets. Traditional forms of journalism like newspapers and news stations on television add a certain degree of professionalism and, much more importantly, credibility to the news that they present. However, in order to survive in this new global age, where the population is becoming more and more moderate, biased news outlets such as MSNBC and FOX need to stop inserting their opinions into their broadcasts, and just focus on reporting what people all over the world actually want: Information. Preferably in the form of the truth.
Traditional vs. Cyber Media
Being an active member in citizen journalism would seem like a piece of cake. Provide reports on anything you want, whenever you want, and whenever you can, right? With evidence from the Neda [1] case it seems as though anyone could “report” on an event, whether it be a blog posting, a mobile phone upload, or even a mass text to a group of friends. However…
Nothing. It’s pretty much exactly as it seems. There don’t seem to be many legal issues involving the “reporter” (protected by section 107 of 1976 Copyright Act[2]). The only real downside could be credibility, and even that is balancing out between “reliable” news sources and citizen journalism. With all the propaganda about the corrupt news media, I find more often people rely on homemade reports because there seems to be less chance of media alteration (such as cutting and pasting). How often do you find yourself searching youtube for a video of the latest news story? We seem to want to crop out what other people have to say about it and just focus on the video itself to make our own judgements.
It doesn’t seem difficult to imagine a world without our “traditional” sense of media (i.e. Newspaper, Television, Radio, etc). After all, was television not a “new” form of communication in the time of the newpaper? And yet now TV has become the number one source of news for Americans[3] (second being the internet!). With more and more people owning portable media devices, mobile phones, and information and news being “pushed” to these devices, it is not hard to imagine the day where newspapers are no longer being printed, and instead, people subscribe to a news service, capable of scrolling through pictures, videos, and more importantly, sources.
[1] For Neda. Dir. Anthony Thomas. HBO, 2010. Documentary.
[2] U.S. Library of Congress. Copyright Law of the United States, Section 107. http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92appa.pdf . Jan 2011
[3]Purcell, Kristen. “Understanding the Participatory News Consumer”. 1 Mar 2010. Web. Jan 2011
Citizen journalism vs traditional media
Most journalists that write for large newspapers hold impressive University degrees and have massive portfolios to prove their journalistic abilities. They have the backing of large multinational news corporations and write full time as a job. With the recent advances in technology it has become possible for the average citizen to create their own new stories which that can distribute globally in seconds via the power of the open Internet. (Glaser, 2006) There are many reasons why citizen journalists are a pleasure to watch or read about versus a professional full time journalist. Citizen journalist offer views that a professional may not touch upon or see. Often citizen journalists live in the communities they are reporting on and offer an insider perspective on an event that a professional may miss.
Many people argue that citizen journalism is has problems with objectivity. Many journalists offer skewed viewpoints that seek to benefit a certain group of people. (Meyer, 1995) This failure to offer objective reporting can mislead many into taking sides based on incorrect or heavily biased viewpoints. Meyer lays out 6 defining elements of public journalism which include some more positive aspects of what citizen journalism should be about. One of interest is that citizen journalists have willingness to delve deeper into stories allowing more in depth analysis of events.
Citizen Journalism has a place in our everyday media repertoire. I think that above all it is important to compare citizen journalism stories to the mass media publications and compare and contrast them. I can’t imagine a world without mass media and I tend to be weary of citizen journalism. I fear the complete lack of rules that exist for citizen journalist. While some journalist may follow the ethical procedures that Meyer outlines in his paper I still trust the traditional forms of communication more than the independent journalist. The area where citizen journalism seems to be a powerful tool is in areas where traditional news sources have trouble penetrating. Areas like Iraq and Korea where there is strict control over who is allowed into the country is where citizen journalism shines. In these places, where news normally does not escape that we need everyday people to create news stories so the rest of the world can know what is occurring in these hostile and closed media locations.
Glaser, M. (2006, September 27). Your Guide to Citizen Journalism. Retrieved January 20, 2011, from Mediashift: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2006/09/your-guide-to-citizen-journalism270.html
Meyer, P. (1995, Septermbet). Public Jounalism and the Problem with Objectivity. Retrieved January 20, 2011, from UNC: http://www.unc.edu/~pmeyer/ire95pj.htm
Traditional Media vs. Cyber Media
Citizen journalism is an emerging form of media that is expanding its influence on society. Although newspapers, news channels, and other traditional forms of media are very important to society, citizen journalism brings to the table things that traditional media can't.
Citizen journalism has both advantages and disadvantages. This form of journalism allows authenticity in its truest form. Years ago, even if a video was taken by a bystander who witnessed any kind of event, they could not have easily shared that with others. They could have merely shared that video with local peers and maybe sent the video in physical form. However, due to the rise of social media and social networks, it is so easy to share ANY piece of information, whether it be a picture, video, or audio clip. Furthermore, because the journalist was actually there, they share the information with sincerity and passion. Moreover, many of these journalists usually focus on relevant and significant issues.
Despite the fact that citizen journalism is both advantageous and growing in influence, it does not come without its drawbacks (like almost anything else). One of the biggest issues is that unlike large media giants (news channels and news papers), the bias of the journalism can be easily swayed. Even if News Channel X is biased on a certain topic, it is very apparent and it is a unified motion to take that stance. However, when it comes to citizen journalists, their opinion can be fueled strongly by their own reservations as well as those of others.
Personally, I do not think traditional media sources such as news papers and live news casts are on their way out anytime soon. Even though social media is getting easier and easier to share and access, due to the digital divide and growing information gap, there are always going to be people who either don't know how to access the emerging media sources or simply don't have the ability to.
Citizen Journalism versus Traditional Media
Jay Rosen, a professor of journalism at NYU defines citizen journalism as, “When the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another” (1). With technology today anyone can moonlight as a journalist if they have the Internet. The doctor, the teacher, the parent, that was getting ready in their New York City apartment on September 11, 2001 instantly became a citizen journalist once they took video of the towers on their cell phone that morning. The bloggers and the tweeters out there in cyberspace are citizen journalists, discussing pressing and not-so-pressing issues for the world to read (2).
Citizen journalism is great because anyone can report their perspective on an issue and discuss it with others all over the world. Also, unlike traditional media, the audience is not being told what issues are important (known as agenda-setting) (3); with citizen journalism the audience is doing the research themselves and picking and choosing what topics they want to read on, what they think is important, and what interests them. The downside of citizen journalism is that the reports can be quite biased. Citizens are reporting on what they are interested in, so they are going to put their own spin and perspective on it. Not that this is much different from traditional media; no matter how hard a news channel or newspaper tries to convince the world they are unbiased, everyone knows this is not true. Another con to citizen journalism is that users must be careful when visiting websites; anyone can make up a story or fake video and try to convince the world that it is as true and people will believe them.
Since social networks are so common on a daily basis around much of the world news travels much faster. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, blogs, and forums allow users to talk about anything they want with anyone they want. In November of 2008 when gunmen fired constant shots in Mumbai and seized the city’s landmarks people did not turn on their televisions or their radios, they turned on their computers to learn about the massacre. The social network sites were flooded with firsthand accounts from Mumbai and provided the world with some of the first photos of the tragic situation. Photographs that were posted on Flickr an hour and a half after the attacks were viewed at least 110,000 times about three days later.(4)
In situations like the Mumbai massacre, the tsunami, Neda, and Septembr 11th, citizen journalism through social networks is very helpful and productive. However, not everything discussed on the Internet is as valuable. For example, news that celebrities Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt divorcing was all over the Internet and blogs where people were reporting how upset they were…is that really what is important? But, I have to admit I do enjoy a little celebrity gossip every now and then and even though not everything discussed on the social networks are news worthy, that’s what the Internet, moreover social networks are for, aren’t they? A place to share your thoughts and ideas with others, no matter the caliber of the idea.
I could not imagine life without traditional media. I like to get away from the computer screen and read the newspaper, listen to the radio, or watch television. In a world without traditional media I know a great deal of people would be at a loss, those who do not possess the skills to retrieve the news from a computer or who do not have a computer/Internet (hello, digital divide). Citizen journalism is great, it gives people a great outlet to share their stories and news, but the traditional media has to stay in order to keep everyone happy.
________________________________________
(1) Rosen, Jay. "A Most Useful Definition of Citizen Journalism." PressThink. 14 July 2008. Web. 20 Jan. 2011..
(2) "Citizen Journalism - What Is It ?" YouTube. 23 Aug. 2006. Web. 20 Jan. 2011..
(3) "Agenda Setting Theory." University of Twente. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.
(4) Dolnick, Sam. "Bloggers Provide Raw View Of Mumbai Massacre." The Huffington Post. 1 Dec. 2008. Web. 20 Jan. 2011..
Citizen journalism is great because anyone can report their perspective on an issue and discuss it with others all over the world. Also, unlike traditional media, the audience is not being told what issues are important (known as agenda-setting) (3); with citizen journalism the audience is doing the research themselves and picking and choosing what topics they want to read on, what they think is important, and what interests them. The downside of citizen journalism is that the reports can be quite biased. Citizens are reporting on what they are interested in, so they are going to put their own spin and perspective on it. Not that this is much different from traditional media; no matter how hard a news channel or newspaper tries to convince the world they are unbiased, everyone knows this is not true. Another con to citizen journalism is that users must be careful when visiting websites; anyone can make up a story or fake video and try to convince the world that it is as true and people will believe them.
Since social networks are so common on a daily basis around much of the world news travels much faster. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, blogs, and forums allow users to talk about anything they want with anyone they want. In November of 2008 when gunmen fired constant shots in Mumbai and seized the city’s landmarks people did not turn on their televisions or their radios, they turned on their computers to learn about the massacre. The social network sites were flooded with firsthand accounts from Mumbai and provided the world with some of the first photos of the tragic situation. Photographs that were posted on Flickr an hour and a half after the attacks were viewed at least 110,000 times about three days later.(4)
In situations like the Mumbai massacre, the tsunami, Neda, and Septembr 11th, citizen journalism through social networks is very helpful and productive. However, not everything discussed on the Internet is as valuable. For example, news that celebrities Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt divorcing was all over the Internet and blogs where people were reporting how upset they were…is that really what is important? But, I have to admit I do enjoy a little celebrity gossip every now and then and even though not everything discussed on the social networks are news worthy, that’s what the Internet, moreover social networks are for, aren’t they? A place to share your thoughts and ideas with others, no matter the caliber of the idea.
I could not imagine life without traditional media. I like to get away from the computer screen and read the newspaper, listen to the radio, or watch television. In a world without traditional media I know a great deal of people would be at a loss, those who do not possess the skills to retrieve the news from a computer or who do not have a computer/Internet (hello, digital divide). Citizen journalism is great, it gives people a great outlet to share their stories and news, but the traditional media has to stay in order to keep everyone happy.
________________________________________
(1) Rosen, Jay. "A Most Useful Definition of Citizen Journalism." PressThink. 14 July 2008. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.
(2) "Citizen Journalism - What Is It ?" YouTube. 23 Aug. 2006. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.
(3) "Agenda Setting Theory." University of Twente. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.
(4) Dolnick, Sam. "Bloggers Provide Raw View Of Mumbai Massacre." The Huffington Post. 1 Dec. 2008. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.
Citizen journalism and traditional media
Citizen journalism is the most real and raw form of journalism. Citizen journalism entails an average person being caught in a real world event. Their emersion is often caught by a camera or cell phone and the footage makes its way to news sources or to the internet. These stories are uncut and narrated on the fly with true emotion and responses of pure impulse. The pleasures of citizen journalism is the fact that it is so unscripted and impulsive. The capturing of a moment is through the eyes of someone caught up in that instance in time. Citizen journalism is the personal narrative of the journalist. It offers an event through their eyes. Unfortunately, citizen journalism is often too raw, too unedited, too real. Videos of violence and death are often very graphic and disturbing. Additionally, citizen journalists are not equipped with the best equipment. Footage is often shaky, blurry, or is lost as the person moves for their own safety. Citizen journalism, even with its downfalls, is still becoming one of the most important primary sources for the reporting of an event. After the shooting at the Civic Association in Binghamton, pictures and videos of Front Street and of police activity around the building flooded news sources and appeared live on television in order to report the story. Citizen journalists were the first to capture the event and in turn were the first to release footage to the media.
I dont believe that we will see a day without “traditional” media. That being said, if it were to happen it would be a great loss. Newspapers, live news reporting, and online media reports are of great importance to society. Without them we lose the immiediacy of important information. The media offers national reporting with instant updating and mass appeal. Although citizen journalists are making their way into the reporting structure of the media, they still lack the ability to mass report events with the speed of the media. A world without this would be an information dark age. We would be lost without a media system to follow for reporting and news.
I dont believe that we will see a day without “traditional” media. That being said, if it were to happen it would be a great loss. Newspapers, live news reporting, and online media reports are of great importance to society. Without them we lose the immiediacy of important information. The media offers national reporting with instant updating and mass appeal. Although citizen journalists are making their way into the reporting structure of the media, they still lack the ability to mass report events with the speed of the media. A world without this would be an information dark age. We would be lost without a media system to follow for reporting and news.
Traditional Media and/or/vs Cyber Media
Being a journalist is generally seen as an exciting job filled with adventure, travel, and adrenaline. A journalist’s job is to be able to drop whatever they are doing to follow a news story. Following journalism are many pleasures but and also pains. Many times they travel across the globe to dangerous places like war zones and extreme weather conditions to cover footage. Ever since the war in Iraq started, more and more reporters have been captured by the countries and sometimes interrogate them to try and get information. In 2009 two American reporters were held captive in North Korea and stated that they were “terrified for [their] lives” [1]. Although journalists/reporters get to travel to exotic places and see interesting events, even history in the making, it can be a very dangerous job with more pains than pleasures that can affect their psychological being.
Citizen journalists are a certain type of journalist that are regular civilians. It is described as individuals playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, and analyzing news events via phone cameras; when members of the public engage in journalism [2]. These journalists then post their footage or pictures on the internet, passing the news along. Like professional journalists, citizen journalists put themselves in danger when they are near a media event. The citizens that filmed the tsunamis may not have realized at the moment they were filming, but they were in great danger. Citizen journalism would not be possible without the new media and technology that society has today. Social networks and blogs are the main places that citizen journalists post their footage or photos when witnessing an event.
[1] “Citizen Journalism." SourceWatch. 5 Oct. 2010. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.
[2] Sutton, Larry. "Love Ones 'terrified' for Captured Journalists." TODAYshow.com. 1 June 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.
Citizen journalism vs traditional media
The term citizen journalism refers to a wide range of activities in which everyday people contribute information or commentary about news event. The recent development in technology has helped the growth of citizen journalism, including the creation of the internet and camera phones, for example. Citizen journalism epitomizes the belief that the experiences of people personally involved with an issue present a different—and often more complete—picture of events than can be derived from the perspective of an outsider. The list of citizen journalism sites is long and includes sites limited to nonprofessional reporting, such as NowPublic and CyberJournalist, and divisions of traditional media companies that feature citizen journalism, such as CNN’s I-Reporter.[1] On the other hand, citizen journalism can be biased or opinionated, as opposed to professional journalism which is supposed to take a neutral standpoint.
An example of an event which was well suited for citizen journalism was when the pilot of a failing aircraft landed his plane on the Hudson River. People around the scene immediately began filming the incident with their cellphones or cameras, and posted their footage on the internet.[2]
It would be a great loss for society if traditional media disappeared. Television news broadcasts are generally the most trusted and most accurate, in comparison to citizen journalism. Personally, I prefer tuning into a news station on TV to keep updated on current events, rather than reading news blogs on the internet. However, I do realize the importance of citizen journalism.
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