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.
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"Citizen journalism allows people whom are untrained in journalism, to express their thoughts and ideas on local news and happenings around the world."
ReplyDelete- This is a great way to look at it, I never quite thought of phrasing it quite like that. I agree wholeheartedly with this statement. I think citizens would like to feel as though they are a part of something if they take part in reporting things that are happening. It may give them a sense of feeling special and needed. But my question to you is, do you think that eventually citizen journalism will take over and traditional journalism will be extinct?
I agree with you in that "a world without traditional media does not seem very far fetched," but I really do not think this will happen. Though people are turning to the Internet more than ever to get their news people have not stopped using traditional media altogether. When I was doing research for my paper I read an article which said that people are now mixing traditional media with newer medias to get their news. This makes sense to me, just because the Internet is there and convenient does not mean that television or radio will be abandoned.
ReplyDeleteAs for your question Lindsey, I do not think that citizen journalism will eventually take over traditional journalism. Citizen journalism definitely is becoming more popular today due to the social networks but I believe that people value the work of true journalists who are completely invested in what they are reporting on. I think people turn to citizen journalism more for the different perspectives not so much the facts, that journalists can give viewers/readers.
I can see a world without newspapers, as well... Because of all the eco-friendly people nowadays, and the "Go Green" campaigners, "saving a tree or two" is going to start to sound more appealing to a lot of people. Our parents' generation is the last one to use newspapers as the main gateway for information; our age group is geared toward the internet, so making internet newspapers is probably on the future agenda. I too, fear the future without radio and TV News, but I believe it is a lot less feasible than the world without newspapers.
ReplyDeleteYour first paragraph was very interesting to me. I agree with how you word the definition of citizen journalism. It is also interesting that you can imagine a world without traditional media. I feel like we are still in an age where there are some generations of people who would never be able to go online and read up on news. Some of the older generations are still very much interested in physical newspapers and news channels.
ReplyDeleteIts not about the older generations only. Citizen journalism is heavily contingent on access to the internet and the ability to read, be it a pamphlet or a blog.
ReplyDeleteAs recently as 1999,there were more internet hosts in New York than in all of Africa(Norris and Pippa (2000), pg 4)and even in America, access to the internet is socially stratified.- Not to mention the fact that some people who graduate from high school in America and cant read.
With those factors in mind, I don't see traditional media teetering on the edge of extinction any time soon.
*some people graduate*
ReplyDeleteLindsey, I do believe traditional journalism will take a back seat to citizen journalism and as the eventual outcome, become virtually extinct. This may not be any time soon, but I do believe it will happen sometime in the future.
ReplyDelete