Citizen Journalism is Catching On

Citizen journalism is ordinary people reporting and sharing information.

Citizen journalism is exactly what it sounds like. With the increase availability to the Internet, everyone can be a journalist.  It doesn’t have to be just paragraphs of text either; the information can take form of pictures, audio, or video. Many podcasts and blogs are updated throughout the week with new story lines and news. Viewers can subscribe to blogs of their choice and keep up to date with information that is relevant to their interests. The Internet is key in the rise in citizen journalism because it now sends the information globally, a power that large news corporations were only capable of. News now can be spread much quicker and has everyone capable of being a contributor.

Some news corporations are supporting citizen journalism.

NBC News is a corporation that supports the growth of citizen journalism. It has a section of its website dedicated to reports written by citizens. The section titled “Citizen Journalist” has sidebars indicating trending topics as well as contact information for citizens in submitting articles and photos.  NBC also is starting to give its viewers “assignments,” which citizens go out and try to do their own investigation of topics previously chosen. In a way NBC is almost getting some of their work done for free. The co-operation between amateur and professional journalists is benefiting society as a whole with new and better information.

Social media is one of the domains for citizen journalism.

According to TheGuardian, a British news website, social media and citizen journalism is not only affecting the news corporations, but the documentary makers as well. During the past incidents in the Middle East, citizens would capture footage of events using the cameras on their cell phones. This footage is being incorporated into documentaries of those events and is a primary source for filmmakers. Social media sites are allowing witnesses to come out with their stories and share them. The witnesses can easily voice their seeing and recollection of events by simply posting pictures, videos, or text stating how they recalled the events.

Citizen journalism is now classified as normal media coverage and is allowed to cover court cases in the state of Massachusetts.

The highest court in the state of Massachusetts has now introduced an online registration process for citizens and other news organizations to use electronic devices and cameras during court hearings. In addition to the new registration process, the court amended Rule 1:19, the state’s camera-in-the-courtroom statute. One amended part defined media to include citizen journalists “who are regularly engaged in the reporting and publishing of news or information about matters of public interest.” The other amended part allowed—given permission from the judge—journalists to use smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other devices to record the hearings, including live-blogs. This is a huge step for the social media and the citizen journalists who use it. Not only are citizens classified as journalists and categorized with other news organizations, but they are also given permission to cover the hearings with electronic devices, taking advantage of the quick distribution effect of social media. Viewers will now be able to keep up to date with rulings as they occur, without delay. Massachusetts’s court information will now be spread much more efficiently with the amendment made to Rule 1:19.

Critics of citizen journalism question its credibility.

With the rise in citizen journalists and their articles, come critics that view the whole concept as “untrustworthy, shoddy and inarticulate.” Jack Kapica, an experienced Canadian journalist, worries that citizen journalists just simply “mimic what they see on TV or in the press, to varying degrees of success.” He continues his statement by mentioning that the journalists demonstrate little understanding of the concepts used to gather and present information in a “conventional form.” Other than the style of the way citizen journalists typically write, Jack says that the amateurs usually lack ways to create original content.  According to Jack, citizens do not comprehend the “necessity of interviewing people and quoting them” and “the value of original quotes cannot be overstated. “ If the citizens just take quotes from the mainstream media, then they are just that—mainstream media. With all the criticism, Jack remains optimistic about the future of citizen journalism because “when done correctly, it can be very powerful [due to] its speed and the ability of the fledgling industry to be anywhere at any time.”

Overall, citizen journalism has changed to become a major part of news.

New social media sites, faster electronic devices, updated laws, and cooperation with major news organizations all help the growth of citizen journalism.  If the amateur journalists can uphold a high standard of writing and follow basic principles of journalism, then their stories will not need to face criticism.