Over the past several years we have witnessed the progression from traditional journalism, to an innovative form, which has completely changed the roots of orthodox journalism as we know it. This new development is known as Citizen Journalism. The term is described as, ‘the act of a citizen, or group of citizens, playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information (Flew, 2008, p. 144).” Although we have not yet seen the complete demise of the traditional journalist and it is unlikely that this will ever occur, citizen participation has dramatically increased in the past few years in particular. Events like the London Riots, the Arab Spring and the Japan tsunami, have influenced a huge increase in citizen reporting (Citizen journalism of 2011 to 2012, 2011), as many believe it is the witnesses who are able to give the most effective coverage of an event (Linsell, 2011). Following the Japan tsunami in March 2011, YouTube created a news and politics blog, called CitizenTube, which allows citizens to upload raw videos, which are then often used by major news networks (Ross, 2011).
Prior to the introduction of citizen journalism, it was thought that only professional journalists could be relied upon to investigative newsworthy issues and report them to the public. In his paper, ‘Putting Citizens Back into Journalism,’ Cherian George says the role of the traditional journalist is, “to serve the public’s need [and] to make sense of complexity and change.” However, many now believe that journalists have become too distracted by money and shareholder value, which has allowed for advertisers to decide what should be reported and why. George says, “Serving citizens’ information needs has become secondary to serving the market’s needs to stimulate consumption” (George, 2009).
With the presence of free publishing through popular mediums like blogs, the public is not only able to have their own opinion; they’ve now been given the equipment to accumulate mass audiences. George says, “Conscientious journalists want to serve the public interest, but the painful truth is that the public is not particularly interested in being served” (George, 2009). Citizens now have the ability to witness an event and report it themselves, instead of relying on others who may not have the public’s best interest at heart; therefore it seems only natural that they are relishing this newfound sense of power. Not only are citizen journalists able to report stories and share their opinions via blogs, many news organisations encourage the public to submit story ideas, photos and videos. In Australia, organisations like Crikey, New Matilda and On Line Opinion encourage alternative ways of reporting the news (Flew, 2008, p. 144). As mentioned earlier, major events from the past year, like the London Riots, presented the opportunity for mass amounts of citizen journalism. Many believe that traditional media couldn’t keep up with the fast-moving riots, however citizen journalists did an adequate job of informing the public from the true heart of the commotion (Aira, 2011).
Although many support the development of citizen journalism, there are also those who believe it is heavily flawed. Many journalists, educators and other professionals have criticized citizen journalists, particularly those who voice their thoughts through blogs. In his paper, ‘Citizen Journalism is not professional journalism,’ Fred Brown says, “Blogs have gained favour because people are looking for information they can agree with.” He goes on to say that the problem with traditional journalism is that the public don’t trust journalists, as they think they that they don’t present information accurately (Brown, 2005). Statistics from Technorati show that 46 per cent of bloggers and blog readers trust traditional media less than they did five years ago and 35 per cent believe that blogs are taken more seriously (Schwartzman, 2011). However, Brown says that the problem with citizen journalism is that, “A professional journalist’s No.1 obligation is to be accurate. A citizen journalist’s No.1 obligation is to be interesting. A professional journalist has layers of editor’s checking his facts. A citizen journalist is usually a lone crusader” (Brown, 2005). Many argue that citizen journalists should not be taken seriously as they have not been professionally trained. Morley Safer, a long-serving 60 minutes presenter said, “I would trust citizen journalists as much as I would trust citizen surgery” (Andrews, 2009), whilst Cherian George professed, “citizen journalists are not trained journalists and may therefore lack the skills and ethics to be worthy of the name … I do not see how we can call it ‘journalism’ any more than we would the conversations on a bus” (George, 2009).
Ian Hargreaves, a British journalist and editor said, “In a democracy, everyone is a journalist. This is because, in a democracy, everyone has the right to communicate a fact or a point of view, however trivial, however hideous” (Flew, 2008, p. 165). In the past, only traditional journalists were equipped to report the news to the public, now, anyone with a camera and a computer can investigative an issue and describe it to their peers. When the fifteen-metre tsunami hit Japan on the 11th of March, 2011, news organisations from across the world scrambled to capture footage of the event. However, it was the witnesses and residents of Sendai who were first on the scene and therefore able to give the most useful documentation of the disaster (Linsell, 2011). Citizen journalism has provided us with a second opinion and detailed account of many monumental moments in our history in recent years. Although it does have its flaws, it seems that we must either accept it and work to improve it or continue to watch journalism remain in limbo.
Amateur footage of the Japan tsunami.
References:
- Aira, C. (2011). Smartphone-Armed Citizens Chronicle London Riots Violence. Retrieved March 3, 2012, from http://siliconangle.com/blog/2011/08/09/smartphone-armed-citizens-chronicle-london-riots-violence/
- Andrews, P. (2009). Citizen journalism and its perils. The Guelph Mercury, September 12, 2009. Retrieved March 3, 2012, from http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.bond.edu.au/pqdlink?did=1857883461&Fmt=2&rqt=309
- Brown, F. (2005). ‘Citizen journalism is not professional journalism. The Quill, 93 (6), 42. Retrieved March 3, 2012, from http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.bond.edu.au/pqdlink?vinst=PROD&fmt=6&startpage=-1&vname=PQD&RQT=309&did=881418001&scaling=FULL&vtype=PQD&rqt=309&TS=1330748440&clientId=21143
- Citizen journalism of 2011 to 2012. (2011). Retrieved March 3, 2012, from http://www.newsmeback.com/blog/personal-opinion/citizen-journalism-of-2011-to-2012/
- Flew, T. (2008). New media: an introduction. (3rd ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
- George, C. (2009). Putting Citizens Back into Journalism. Media Asia, 36 (1), 12-13. Retrieved March 3, 2012, from http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.bond.edu.au/pqdlink?vinst=PROD&fmt=6&startpage=-1&vname=PQD&did=1909436571&scaling=FULL&vtype=PQD&rqt=309&TS=1330745378&clientId=21143
- Linsell, K. (2011). Citizen journalism captures horrors of Japanese tsunami. Retrieved March 3, 2012, from http://bottomupmedia.wordpress.com/2011/03/19/citizen-journalism-captures-horrors-of-japanese-tsunami/
- Ross, R. (2011). Three Lessons Learned From Citizen Journalists Covering the Japanese Earthquake. Retrieved March 6, 2012, from http://ronrosstoday.com/?p=384
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