Citizen Journalism

As journalism has evolved and technology has developed one of the biggest changes to journalism practice is that journalism now forms public opinion rather reporting on public opinion. Carey suggests this is because of the convergence of journalism with the entertainment industry have caused the lines to become blurred. “The press no longer facilitated or animated a public conversation, for public conversations had disappeared. It informed a passive and privatised group of citizens who participated in politics through the press. What conversation remained was orchestrated by the press in the name of a superior knowledge and superior instruments of inquiry into just what was going on.” (Carey cited in Tapsall & Varley, 2001, p. 43) This dissatisfaction with the media, coupled with the accessibility of technology has lead to the development of citizen journalism. Gramsci proposes ‘intergral journalism’ which “...aims not only to satisfy all the needs of its public, but also to create and develop these needs, to arouse the public and to progressively enlarge it.” (Gramsci cited in Tapsall & Varley, 2001, p.45) This concept is also linked to Jay Rosen’s notion of community or citizen journalism. The concept of citizen journalism allows the public to examine its cultural role, and uncover some of the economic power behind the news. “Cultural forms , like the media, and cultural practices, like journalism, continue to make a significant contribution to the way in which we ‘imagine’ ourselves and communities.” (Tapsall & Varley, 2001, p.46) Romano and Hippocrates suggest that not only has the increased availability and saturation of technology lead to citizen journalism but also the lack of traditional media outlets addressing topics that are actually of interest to their audience. Public journalism lets the public decide what is reported, rather than those in power and it aims to include the public in discussion and the decision making processes. What supporters of citizen journalism consider the flaws of traditional journalism is this failure to link to community, and it is this they suggest that this leads many away from traditional methods of receiving the news to newer forums. However there are justified concerns regarding citizen journalism, in particular that it will erode the professional standards of journalists and that a poor quality of professional writing will also be prevalent. It is also argued that a sense of duty to the community could also interfere with journalists presenting the truth to that said community.

However as argue in the ‘Global Digital Journalism: A Transformative Moment’ video, citizen journalism give the public access to information that would not get otherwise, and as highlighted by Joyce Barnathan (the presenter) the information is of a high quality, and should not be dismissed as amateur, because the technology is allowing citizens around the globe to share information with the world. Without the presence of citizen journalism, some of these stories would never be told, and there is an important level of authenticity to this, as it is often told by those affect or part of the story. Barnathan also discusses how she believes Google to be the most powerful news source, setting the agenda for readers worldwide and questions how they can control the integrity and quality of news sources on the internet. This video is quite long, but definitely worth a look, Barnathan covers many of the major questions facing modern journalism; citizen journalism, the journalists’ role, technological changes and how this impact on journalism ethics.

Citizen journalism will continue to raise many questions for journalists around the world, and being a new development only time will tell whether it will have a positive or negative impact on journalism. From this research and the Jay Rosen conference viewed in class, it appears as if citizen journalism could have some real benefits for the public, but could be potentially harmful to the traditional journalist’s role.

Global Digital Journalism: A transformative Moment Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBB8zzgJAF0

Resources

Barnathan, J 2007, Global Digital Journalism: A Tranformative Moment, video, viewed 16 August 2008 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBB8zzgJAF0>

Tapsall, S & Varley, C (eds) 2001, Journalism: Theory in Practice, Oxford University Press, Victoria