‘The rise of the citizen’ - Analyse why journalism is changing in the 21st century and what impact this could have on the traditional role of journalists.
News has been in existence for centuries; however the way which news is broadcasted and distributed in recent times has evolved due to technological advances. Modern technology such as mobile phones and advances in global communications, have enabled ordinary citizens to capture extraordinary events in the form of pictures and videos which can then be distributed via the Internet to create and lead the news on that event. For example when the Asian Tsunami hit in 2004, many of the images and videos broadcasted on major news networks were in fact captured by people who happened to have a camera as the events unfolded. This told the story to the audience from a ‘first person’ view compared to traditional methods where the story would have been told once the event was over, reporting and showing the destruction of the aftermath.
In this essay it will highlight how journalism is changing by ordinary people now being able to create, edit and publish there own news and how this impacts on the traditional role of journalists. First let’s look at describe citizen and traditional journalism, so that we have a better understanding of this topic.
The basic phenomenon of "citizen journalism" comes simply from the fact that the internet and consumer technologies lower the barriers in recording and reporting the news, allowing a wider variety of people to play a part than the traditional industry of professional journalists (source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5097432.stm).
Because of the wide dispersion of so many excellent tools for capturing live events, from tiny digital cameras to videophones, the average citizen can now make news and distribute it globally, an act that was once the province of established journalists and media companies (source: www.pbs.org/mediashift/2006/09/your-guide-to-citizen-journalism270.html). News and issues can now be published on to the Internet in forms of ‘tweets’ and opinions and journals can be posted in the form of ‘blogs’ making news more on the internet and everyday citizens being able to publish blogs and twitter adding more interactive between the citizen journalist and the audience. Compared to traditional journalism, media reporters and producers are no longer the exclusive center of knowledge on a subject, the audience knows more collectively than the reporter alone (source: www.pbs.org/mediashift/2006/09/your-guide-to-citizen-journalism270.html).
Citezen journalism has also challenged some of the traditonal methods used by proffessional journalists. Some events have even come to rely upon this "user generated content", where professional journalists and cameramen haven't been able to get to the scene fast enough. For example The Thames whale sighting, the Buncefield oil explosion, and the 2004 London bombings all had photos from passers-by being published online and in press. (Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5097432.stm). This creates a growing concern which professional photographers loose out as news organisations will use free mobile phone coverage instead to reduce costs (source: www.journalism.co.uk/news/citizen-journalism-dealing-with-dinosaurs/s2/a51458/).
Other concerns are ethical problems faced by photojournalism in general. For example, the digital manipulation of images, privacy concerns and the use of graphic images. As photos are published on the web from all over the world, it is also difficult to check their authenticity (source: www.journalismethics.ca/citizen_journalism/cell_journalism.htm).
By granting access to anyone to cover the news, citizen journalsim presents a more personal, nuanced view of events and has the potential to cultivate communities of people with a common interest (source: www.educause.edu/eli). However the qulaity of any citizen journalism project reflects the contributuions of those who choose to participate, and such projects can be havens for triviality or unreliable content (source: www.educause.edu/eli). Also citizen journalisim have the potential to contain content that might be inaccuarate, offensive or otherwise lack credibility. Whilst conscientious professional journalists are careful to separate supportable evidence from opinion or speculation, many citizen journalists have a weaker sense of what constitutes a reliable story. Therefore it can be argued that reporting through citizen journalsim can sometimes result in a loss of confidence in the news (source: www.educause.edu/eli).
Also many professional journalists believe that only a trained journalist can understand the rigors and ethics involved in reporting the news. The role of the traditional journalist is to create and report genuine news based on facts, truth and accuracy. Most of the main news we read and watch today still comes from the traditional sources. However citizen journalism gives the option of ‘more power to the people’ and can also offer more transparency in stories. For example Pedro Meyer, a Photographer from Mexico City, is a strong advocate for democratising the press and allowing people in third world economies to have a voice in the world.
In my opinion big news organizations like the BBC have a reputation built up over years. For citizen journalists and bloggers, trust is gained by building a relationship with the reader by being open and transparent about the sources being used. Citizen journalism can provide another perspective in the world of journalism however I do believe that traditional journalism will be at the forefront of providing news to the public.
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