One of the things that I am most excited about -- briefly mentioned by speaker Rick Green (of The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, Calif., at left) --is the emergence of citizen journalism and its democratizing effects. Blogs, push-button publishing and community-journalism sites give anyone with access to a computer and the Internet, or the public library, a forum in which to tell stories.
I find this area of journalism exciting because it frees the media from corporate ties, allows for coverage of hyperlocal events that are important to the communities that they occur in and builds a stronger overall sense of community.
Many sites allow users to upload photos, form groups, write blogs, etc. They include gothamist.com, which also operates citizen-media sites for cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Shanghai; fotolog.com; flickr.com; and newsvine.com. Even traditional media sites such as savannahnow.com/share and Rick Green's Desert Sun have co-opted citizen journalism.
Often, these sites will scoop traditional media, as was the case with Cory Lidle's airplane crash in New York. Or traditional media will take news and information from these sites, as with the cell-phone picture taken during the London subway bombing or the flickr photo that simply stated "Im Okay" so that the user's friends and family would know that all was well.
Citizen journalism does leave a lot of questions to be asked. When does a citizen become a "journalist?" As in the case of videoblogger Josh Wolf, this is not always clear. Should a citizen journalist be awarded the same state shield law protections as a professional when practicing journalism? Where is the line between freelancer/activist/journalist? Is one required to be trained in ethics before being considered a journalist?
While these questions may take some time to answer, one thing is certain: The trend of citizen journalism will only continue to grow. More people will buy digital point-and-shoot cameras. More cell phones will come equipped with still-photo and video capabilities. And more people will be recording their day-to-day activities and be in the right place at the right time to record history.
I find this area of journalism exciting because it frees the media from corporate ties, allows for coverage of hyperlocal events that are important to the communities that they occur in and builds a stronger overall sense of community.
Many sites allow users to upload photos, form groups, write blogs, etc. They include gothamist.com, which also operates citizen-media sites for cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Shanghai; fotolog.com; flickr.com; and newsvine.com. Even traditional media sites such as savannahnow.com/share and Rick Green's Desert Sun have co-opted citizen journalism.
Often, these sites will scoop traditional media, as was the case with Cory Lidle's airplane crash in New York. Or traditional media will take news and information from these sites, as with the cell-phone picture taken during the London subway bombing or the flickr photo that simply stated "Im Okay" so that the user's friends and family would know that all was well.
Citizen journalism does leave a lot of questions to be asked. When does a citizen become a "journalist?" As in the case of videoblogger Josh Wolf, this is not always clear. Should a citizen journalist be awarded the same state shield law protections as a professional when practicing journalism? Where is the line between freelancer/activist/journalist? Is one required to be trained in ethics before being considered a journalist?
While these questions may take some time to answer, one thing is certain: The trend of citizen journalism will only continue to grow. More people will buy digital point-and-shoot cameras. More cell phones will come equipped with still-photo and video capabilities. And more people will be recording their day-to-day activities and be in the right place at the right time to record history.
-- Daniel Sato, San Jose State University, St. Cloud (Minn.) Times
No comments:
Post a Comment