Disadvantages Of Citizen Journalism

Disadvantages Of Citizen Journalism
Introduction
"In the end, the discipline of verification is what separates journalism from entertainment,
propaganda, fiction, or art.... Journalism alone is focused first on getting what happened down right.
The willingness of the journalist to be transparent about what he/she has done is at the heart of
establishing that the journalist is concerned with the truth." (Kovach, Rosenstiel 2001)
As is it a journalist's responsibility, obligation and duty to the public to tell the truth, carrying out
thorough and accurate research is a vital part for construction of news stories. Reporting credible
news will develop public trust.
Without this confidence, journalists would be unable to carry out their jobs justly and democracy
will be compromised.
Why credible research?
"Accuracy must be our journalistic grail." (McLellan, 2001)
Why do journalists need to carefully research possible news stories before publishing them? Is it
important to ensure its authenticity and accuracy? The public will consume information provided in
stories. If there are pieces of poorly researched news, it could potentially cause detrimental
outcomes such as losing one's job, embarrassment, a tarnished reputation (not only for the journalist
but also for the news company ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Most self–proclaimed citizen journalist, have no proper form of training, they so not abide by the
hard and fast rules of Journalism. This leads to questioning the credibility of their stories and this
may result bias report. Citizen journalists are also not trained on ethics, which might affect them
when certain situation arises. Since everyone can be a citizen journalist at any point of time, it
sometimes requires a leap of faith to trust and believe in the sources. We should always question and
verify reliability of the source.
It is always important to have someone that has authority as it serves to be more convincing and
... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...

Online Journalism : A New Form Of Journalism
The arrival of new media has significantly and drastically transformed the concept of journalism.
Traditional journalism promotes authenticity, reliable sourcing and valid evidence through major
media companies and the use of gate–keeping. This classic process is what provides factual
information to their following about current world issues which also creates a trust with their
audience. Citizen journalism is a new form of journalism that allows the general public to publish
online. Citizen journalists are given the opportunity to produce content that would normally only be
possible for professionally educated journalists otherwise. Now, publishing news–worthy stories
globally has been accessible for both classes of journalism as a result of new media. New media has
fundamentally changed the production of news regarding recent and important events as well as the
way we acquire it. It has permanently redefined the role of journalism by significantly improving
the process of news distribution for both traditional as well as citizen journalism.
Traditional journalism has benefitted from new media by utilizing social networking to remain
relevant globally. Social media has become prominent in today's society as this generation
significantly relies on the internet to obtain their news. Traditional journalists maintain their
standards by providing reliable material, filtering specific information being displayed to the public
with the process of gatekeeping to determine which

Social Media Is Pointless And Detrimental
Nowadays, many debates insinuate how social media is pointless and detrimental. Base on my
research, I hold a different opinion – social media is not only just snapping photos and watching
funny videos, but it also increases the generation of informational content and citizen participation
in political discussions. In early 2011, thousands of Syrian, especially youth from labor unions,
indented to risk their lives to protest against the authoritarian government. By August 2015, more
than 250,000 citizens had been killed in the conflict. Furthermore, there are more than 11 million
citizens who had been forced to be loyal to President Bashar al–Assad. Otherwise, they would of
been compelled to leave their homes. Referring to Saxon, D.'s case study, Syrian civil war
stimulated citizen journalists' willingness to get evolved in politics (Saxon, 2013). In four–and–a–
half years of armed conflict, hot–blooded citizens who were behind the revolutions employed social
media as a temporary press, contributing with their documentaries of the revolutions from the inside
of the country. In the case of Syrian civil war, the progress in technology and the presence of social
media provided opportunities to the citizens; empowering them to speak up about political issues in
online platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube (Wall & Zahed, 2014). By
examining how and to what degree citizen journalism has reshaped the communication model
through social media, it is found that

The Elements Of Journalism By Bill Kovach And Tom Rosenstiel
In The Elements of Journalism by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, the authors stated that the
primary purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with the information they need to self–govern.
As a student who regularly uses Google News, it is crucial to me that the journalist publishes the
article in a way that empowers the audience. Often, external influences affect the role of journalism
in our society. The line between journalism and propaganda is often muddled and groups of people
are left behind. Although it is sometimes lost, the journalism we see today is meant to be the
metaphorical bridge that makes sense of the masses of events and delivers it to the audience in a
way that demonstrates clarity. The audience needs guidance from ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Ground–breaking news such as the shooting in Tunisia or the President conducting a deal with Iran
should be prioritized and be put in a place where the average citizen can immediately read about it.
As technology dominates our lives, shocking news generally reaches the public in a very fast
manner, mostly through social media. Journalists must be able to take what he/she thinks is the most
important, interpret it to make it understandable and put it out to the public. In my opinion, this
principle is the most important as the ability of the journalist to deliver easy to understand news is
what will allow the bridge to form. If this bridge is formed correctly, citizens will be better able to
understand their relationship to the event. In addition, news websites themselves must be able to
accommodate the needs of the society by putting 'important' news at the front, and not allowing
celebrity drama and more 'unnecessary' news to dominate their website. After all, it is extremely
frustrating when the most important news of the day is about The Kardashians' latest shenanigans
rather than how

Citizen Journalist Essay
Caterin L. Villar
November 27, 2011
English 102
Professor Rigney
Is Assuming the Role of Citizen Journalist worth the Risk?
Amateur journalism is becoming more and more popular everyday with the advancement of
technology. Newspapers across America have become so decimated by staff cutbacks that citizen
journalists are stepping in to fill the gap in covering the news. Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube are
only some of the free websites where users are connected with others and can share in an instant
what is happening in their side of the world. When the people formerly known as the audience
employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another, that's citizen journalism
(Rosen). Yulianti's article states ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Tunisia's Zine al–Abidine Ben was also ousted as a result of revolts formed from the reports from
private citizens. Social media is so powerful; the government of Malawi has shut down news
websites and social media networks including Twitter and Facebook to prevent suffering the same
fate as other dictatorship based governments. Cameroonian government has banned the use of social
media. In Uganda, the government temporarily closed social networks after threatening ISPs with
closure. The members of the current "Occupy Wall Street" movements use social media to organize
their political movement and gain members. Boudreau's article suggests "Occupy Wall Street has
spread around the country with keyboard–clicking quickness as participants tap into Twitter,
Facebook and microblogging site Tumblr to call Americans to the streets to protest what they see as
a broken global financial system. What would have taken months to unfold in a different era has
occurred in days and hours. The Economist magazine calls it America's first true social–media
uprising"(Broudreau). Revis article states "These citizen journalists fight to create a well–informed
public in which media also serves as moral education. This philosophy radically departs from
mainstream journalism, an overarching goal of which is to sell its product. Citizen journalism, on
the other hand, allows marginalized people to reclaim their voices, to tell their otherwise silenced
stories firsthand"

Citizenfour Film Analysis
Citizenfour is a documentary film, featuring Edward Snowden and the NSA spying scandal. The
film, directed by Laura Poitras, won many prestigious awards, including Oscar in February 2015.
Laura Poitras, her crew, journalists, including Edward Snowden himself, took a great risk to capture
the frightening realm of being a whistleblower in our modern culture. Undoubtedly, Citizenfour is a
great piece of modern documentary history. Despite a rising threat and fears during the process of
filming, ethical dilemmas, and public controversies afterwards, the documentarians who made
"Citizenfour" acted ethically in making and distributing the work without any reasonable doubt. The
entire film follows the minimalistic style of documentaries. From the ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
At the beginning of the film, "Citizenfour" insists that all the materials and documentary will go
public. He gives full permission to publish and distribute the materials. He mentions that
documentarians and journalists do not need to worry about his safety. He committed to bring truth.
However, vulnerable of future politic prosecution, Snowden fully relied on credibility and ethical
code of filmmakers. Poitras's team did their job perfectly. Her crew worked on montage at the
private location in Germany, making sure that FBI or other governmental authorities will not seize
the material. The material that served as a starting point to further investigation by the international
community and developed crisis of the NSA spying

Print News Ethos Pathos Logos
Denzel Washington once said, "If you don't read the newspaper you're uninformed, if you do read it
you're misinformed." The difference between print news and electronic news is astounding. Overall,
I must agree with Sam Jacob's argument stating that electronic news will eventually overrun print
news, and that print news doesn't fully state everything that everyone needs to know. Dealing with
rhetorical appeals, I feel that Sam Jacobs leans more on pathos than using logos and ethos to appeal
to the audience. He states a lot about the hurricane and how it affected people and uses that to say
that electronic print news covered more of it because you can have a multitude of news outlets
covering the same story, each saying something different, but as an overall stating the same idea. A
direct quote from his essay talks of the contribution that the citizens made saying, "Armed with cell
phones and laptops, regular citizens relayed critical news updates in a rapidly developing crisis,
often before traditional journalists were even on the scene" (115). ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Sam Jacobs in his essay also tell us about the rebuttal that can be made, quoting Dan Gilmore, that
states: "Even a supporter like Dan Gilmore is willing to agree that citizen journalists are
"nonexperts," but he argues that they are 'using technology to make a profound contribution, and a
real difference'" (114). Dan Gilmore is telling us that people are often not the most reliable sources
to use, but they're using it to help everyone out. They're being their own writers and editors which is
what technology is helping us become. This way he is appealing to us by saying, "Look, this is
where the world is going, so you might as well just follow suit with them and go along with

A Brief Note On Journalism And Technology On Our Lives
Kevin Koeshartono Professor Benoit Elements of Journalism 2 November 2014 Journalism and
Technology Every year technology is continuing to advance further and further. The way we live
our lives ten years ago compared to how we live our lives today is vastly different. In this day and
age, everything is so instant. If we want information, we don't have to wait to get to a library to read
a book about it. We don't even have to wait to go home to use our computers to google something
anymore. Anything we need or want to know, we have access to in the palm of our hands.
Smartphones have allowed people to have access to the internet as fast as they can unlock their
phones and open up an application. Everything has become about instant gratification. There idea of
waiting to do anything anymore is obsolete. With this advancement of technology, there is a rise in
the use of social media sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Google+, etc. Everyone now has
instant connections with everyone. Communication has never been easier. With the combination of
smartphones and social media sites, a majority of the population spends a startling amount of time
staring at their phones. The idea of staying "connected" to everyone has consumed the population.
With the introduction of social media sites, everyone is constantly updating their "status" or
"tweeting" what they are doing. So how does this connect to news? More and more people are
spending time on these sites than

Mainstrea Mainstream Media Analysis
Both professional and citizen journalist are vitally important to keeping the public apprised as to
significant happening across the globe. The advantage the citizen journalist has to report
instantaneously is invaluable. However, there simply are not enough professional journalist
available to be everywhere, at all times. The ability to inform the public, anytime, anyplace, is
priceless. The blogger skips the arduous process of the editor, the producer and the scheduled time
slot on the local television channel. Professional journalist are limited by neutrality. They report on
the opinions of others or current events, whereas the citizen journalist may steer the events or
opinions. Both are motivated by the opportunity to expose the truth, however where the professional
often searches for the truth, the truth simply finds the citizen journalist. The independent citizen
journalist, like the professional, risk being incarcerated or worse, by exposing the truth. A price both
are willing to pay. They should find a way to enhance each other by working together. ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
Mainstream media, however, is often limited by regulations or fed inaccurate information by way of
propaganda by local authorities, in the name of national security. Point in case, Nazi propaganda
before WWII. Historically, the truth has been portrayed in only the most flattering of light, when the
government controls media. Citizen journalist on the other hand, present all sides of the truth. The
good, the bad and the ugly. Because of this, arrests of citizen journalists are on the rise. Nations are
combatting free internet expression under the guise of being a threat to national unity. Citizen
journalism must expand throughout the globe to ensure that truth prevail and that human rights are

The And Skeptics : Evaluating The Credibility Of...
The concept of journalism has always been regarded with skepticism. People are not sure which
newspapers or news stations to trust. Naturally, the audience gravitates towards mainstream news
providers like CNN or The New York Times. These sources, along with many others, have been
accepted for their credibility. Recently, however, another source has been capturing the audience's
attention. This source is known as citizen journalism, and its contributions to society have had a
huge impact. Whether or not these contributions are credible has become an issue that sparks debate
among the audience. This issue is researched in an academic journal called Cynics and Skeptics:
Evaluating the Credibility of Mainstream and Citizen Journalism. The academic journal defines
citizen journalism as "amateur news reporting" (Carr, Barnidge, Lee, & Tsang, 2014). Citizens are
often the ones to experience news firsthand. News spreads like wildfire through texts, phone calls,
and social media. By the time the mainstream media gets a hold of the story, everyone already
knows about it. Citizen journalism has been becoming increasingly popular, but its credibility is
considered something to question. Sometimes, what citizens contribute to a news story gives the
story more depth and insight that a journalist may not have grasped. A video, picture, or blog post
from an actual witness can cover what mainstream journalism misses. There are not journalists in
every corner of the planet to cover news

Don’t Quit Your Day Job: Citizen Journalism
The toxic aroma of despair fell upon Virginia Tech, April 16, 2007, when a gunman opened fired on
the university's campus resulting in thirty–three deaths along with more than a dozen injuries and a
permanent wound to the community. Journalist and writer, Lilly Yulianti, posted an article one day
after the tragedy identifying a newer form of journalism identified as active citizen reporters.
Yuliantis' article, Praise for Student's Footage of Virginia Tech Mass Killing, received a voice in an
online news outlet where writings of new forms are welcomed. Time and incident met and a young
man, by the name of Jamal Albarghouti, stepped on the school campus and with instinct noticed a
chill in the temperament of the vast province of student life and possessed the instant sensitivity
captured in a moment of time that would prove to be a rare form of documentation for the indecent
events that occurred. (Rottenburg and Haisty Winchell 262–264) Yulianti supports the student–
initiated video taken by Albarghouti, his untrained reporting skills as well as the use of what CNN
and other news outlets referred to as a citizen reporter. (Rottenburg and Haisty Winchell 263) No
official employment post was awarded to this experienced smart phone user however; CNN quickly
recognized, along with a host of other talk show hosts and news stations, the value of welcoming
news video from non–professional videographers. Don't quit your day job in light of this newly
developing opportunity; it is

Essay on Two Forms of Journalism
Two Forms of Journalism Recent events such as the tsunami disaster (where blogs helped in
covering the enormous size of the story), the war in Iraq (where blogs help to present both opinions
of all parties involved), the Dan Rather's scandal, a CBS Evening News anchor who reported as
authentic a series of forged documents about George W. Bush (where blogs were highly
instrumental in exposing him) have all contributed to the growing popularity of citizen journalism.
So, why is there a recent growth in popularity of citizen journalism? Is it because of the scandals
that has eroded the credibility of traditional journalism or is out of touch with today's media
landscape? And does any of it eventually mean the decline of traditional ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Another incidence includes the fabrication and plagiarisms in numerous articles by Jayson Blair, a
Times reporter, who was exposed in 2003 after his article: "After effects: The Missing; Family
Waits, Now Alone, for a Missing Soldier", in which he incorporated passages from an article that
was published earlier in The San Antonio Express.
Traditional journalism has also prided itself as being an objective source of media, but pure
objectivity is just a mirage. The limitation of human nature causes us to be biased, as we all have
opinions which we directly or indirectly express in our communication, Added to this the financial,
time and area space causes journalism to be subjective to a certain degree. But, another question
arises, is subjectivity, an expression of one's opinions, necessarily bad? After all opinions give
meaning to facts. One may argue that the presentation of opinions in the media would preclude
people from making their own judgments, but aren't peoply independent beings with a mind of their
own?
However, from the standpoint of traditional journalism where the audience has a trusted relationship
with the media source or media person it might not be such good idea to be subjective mostly
because of the certain sense of loyalty of the audience member towards his/her particular news

The Trend Of Citizen Journalism
The Trend of Citizen Journalism – a Critical Development in Journalism
With the advent of low cost consumer photography equipment, including camera phones, citizen
journalism has become more widespread. During newsworthy incidents many people may be
present with the capability to snap a picture. This capability of photography at the scene of a
newsworthy event may produce information that can be helpful – and vital depending on the nature
of the newsworthy event. While safety of the photographer is a concern – the same concerns exist
for a professional journalist. The potential benefit of a mass capture of information by many sources
may far outweigh the negatives. If the photographer feels that their safety is not in jeopardy and no
un–necessary risks are taken – then photography is acceptable. In today's society, it is up to the
judgment and common sense of the witness to record whatever even they are observing.
Safety is a serious and growing concern of today's society. Many rules and safety concerns exist
today which were nonexistent in the past. Research, observation, and an overwhelming amount of
information has resulted in far more rules and regulations for today's citizens. Another part of our
progressing society has been the advancement and adoption of technology in our daily lives. Just
about everyone has a phone capable of taking pictures. The prevalence of cameras in the hands of
people differs from the past – as recent as the 1990s – where few people

The Ethics Of Citizen Journalism And Traditional Media
In today's age, anyone can be a reporter. Traditional media is where news has been shared by trained
journalists for decades, however, citizen journalism has skyrocketed in recent years with the growth
of the Internet. These citizen journalists have no professional training in journalism collecting and
news distribution (Netzley). Citizen journalists are collecting, reporting, analyzing, and
disseminating news without any formal training but provides independent, relevant information
(Barnes). Traditional media outlets are not being outdone by citizen journalism in today's society,
but their platform is growing rapidly. The ethics of citizen journalism is not growing at the same rate
as its platform and relevance in today's world.
Producing and sharing media has become much easier which has given citizen journalists a much
larger platform than ever before. Social media, blogs, and production material such as FinalCutPro
are making it easier and faster to get media out there compared to traditional media sources (Roberts
and Steiner, 1). Citizen journalists are much more equipped with being able to share news from
what is happening at the scene of an event. These can be photos, videos, or a number of different
sources from major events in history such as September 11th and the more recent Las Vegas attack
(Barnes). Some professional news sites even encourage citizen journalists to share media, stories,
and ideas. A study done in 2008 showed that one out of every seven of

The Invention Of An Innocent Device
An innocent device that started out just a decade ago as a simple entertainment gadget, the camera
phone has evolved into one of the most widely used item into the daily lives of all the people of the
world over. It is hard to imagine our daily activities that do not involve the use of the camera on the
back of the cellphone, a far cry from what its inventors had first envisioned it was going to do.
Together with social media, the outgrowth of common people reporting events of their daily lives
has become a major source of news and information with no sign of stopping.
Today it's hardly a secret that all news sources big or small depend on this camera wielding citizen
as a major source of information. Top news outlets rely on these citizens journalists with their
armature pictures and videos in their breaking news section for any events around the world. Like
their saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words", today these first pictures and videos have
become their bread and butter and news agency compete against each other to be the first one to air
it.
It is inevitable that as camera phone devices become cheaper and wide spread, local people at the
scene of any incident pulling out their phone and take pictures and videos for whatever the reason is
only going to increase. Thus the question of whether it is safe for people taking the pictures put
them at risk and possibly put others at danger that may result in loss of life is of a serious concern.
Also, competing

The Censorship Of The Journalism
"Breaking news just in.........." this is just one of the everyday things in the hectic world of
journalism. People often downplay the significance of this huge task. Journalism allows people to
know everything happening all around the world. It also allows questions that would otherwise be
awkward to ask to be answered. It offers informative facts and often the whole truth to everyone out
there. Without journalism the government would probably be in control of everything and fellow
citizens would ignorant of the happenings around them.
One of the roles in journalism is the journalist. Journalists have several tasks to complete but the
main thing is that they inform the public about events and topics and how it may pertain to ... Show
more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Not only was he a journalist he was also a publisher and printer. He was rather successful in this
area and it could be due to the fact that he would be neutral on subjects and scrutinize all sides of an
issue and several perspectives on those issues would be published. He completely understood the
meaning of the freedom of the press, and he wouldn't limit the information he knows to the people
in America.
A reporter is another essential position in journalism. A reporter is the one who watches and pictures
the events in great detail in order to inform viewers. They have to state their own views and also the
facts of the things they are covering. This job includes having to gather the news and present it in a
certain amount of time. They have to interview several people and attend public meetings, press
conferences, and courts to find events of interest to the public.
This job doesn't quite provide fixed hours or a regular routine; it'll change by the day. The type of
work will change daily, as well as the amount of it. To fit this job a reporter must possess confident,
so they won't be overly amazed or intimidated by the rank of an interviewee. A reporter should
always take initiative to do all tasks and not be easily discouraged by people or their surroundings.
They should also posses the mental and physical drive to deal with any kind of situation quickly and
to put it into words. When

The Media And Its Impact On The Economy And Society Operates
Journalism is a form of writing that informs public about things that already happened in our life. It
is a practice of examining and reporting issues, events and trends to the media such as print and
broadcast media. It is not only presenting the news of the day of a city or a country, but telling
meaningful stories about what is new or is happening around us, understanding it and explaining it
to others (Michael et al., 2012). The people who write journalism, gather news and information for
mass distribution are called "journalists." They usually work at newspaper, magazines, TV or radio
station or online. With these different media, there are also different tasks for every journalist such
as reporters, sub–editors, photojournalists, the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This proves that the journalism industry has provided comprehensive and informative news to the
audience. Beside that, the Internet has provided new opportunity for news outlets to earn money
from advertisers, hacker, media companies, and profit–seekers alike and so on.
Nevertheless, there are many debates and discussions of the Internet usage in journalism. As quoted
by Salter and Jones, "the Internet has all too often been regarded as an economic opportunity more
than an opportunity to change and improve journalistic practice." This example I have chosen for
this essay will attempt to critically analyze this quote; whether the Internet is mostly developed for
economic opportunity or for the advancement of journalistic practice.
First and foremost, The New Straits Times Press (NTSP) has been chosen as my main media outlet
example in this assignment. NTSP is one of the oldest and largest Malaysia's newspapers founded in
1845 (Multimedia Inc, n.d). It's an official English newspaper, which is often described as "The
Newspaper of the Nation" in Malaysia (Multimedia Inc, n.d). Furthermore, the principle activities of
this company comprise of the publication and sale of newspapers and magazines, editorial services,
online services, outdoor and media advertising, property management services and investment
holdings.
Beside that, NTSP is owned by Media Prima Corporation. Media Prima Corporation is also known
as Media

News Of The 21st Century : The Evolution Of Necessity
News in the 21st century: The Evolution of Necessity
By Sarah Laird, n9196579
Topic 1: Discuss how gathering, accessing and paying for news is evolving to survive using a range
of sources and specific examples to illustrate your argument.
Introduction
A new form of journalism based on new media is changing the core of news production and
consumption. Rebelling against the news models of the past as news migrates onto an online
platform. News values are changing even in the ABC and other conventional news outlets. These
changes are a response to the external factors that impact the news industry as it evolves into a new
era of technological adaption. Although the meaning of news itself is changing, of equal ... Show
more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The figure of the journalist been reimaged into the figure of the "networked journalist" in order to
adapt to the new system of news sharing.
Networked journalism is a concept that "refers to a diffused capacity to record information, share it,
and distribute it". The role of the professional journalist is still essential amongst the growing
number of citizen journalists both in going out to collect new facts on site, and in consolidating
information.
There is still authorship and analysis of writing, but it is driven by a networked practice dependent
on sources, commentaries, and feedback, some of which are constantly accessible online. The actual
product of journalistic practice now usually involves networks of various professionals and citizens
cooperating, substantiating sources and claims, correcting and producing through these interactions,
accurate stories.
Filmmaker Jack Qui's documentary Deconstructing Foxconn is a convincing example of the
products of networked journalism. After a wave of worker suicides at Foxconn (Apple Inc.'s major
contractor in the production of iPhones, iPods, and iPads) in Hong Kong, a collection of academics,
journalists, non–governmental organization's (NGO's), and journalism students came into existence.
This collective started to collaborate to gain consistent and undeniable facts about Foxconn and its
one million employees and why journalists are not permitted.
Students

The Twitter Effect Of Social Media On The News
The Twitter Effect: The Impact of Social Media on the News Networked technologies like Twitter
"disrupt established concepts of communication, prevailing notions of space and time and the
distance between public and private spheres," (Noah, A., & Weiss, A. S., 2010). As a result,
journalism is not just in the process of negotiating a shift to a digital media environment, but more
significantly to a networked one. (Hermida, A., 2012). As an increasing amount of people have
gained access to the internet, with incrementally faster–paced networks, it has found itself an
exceedingly popular platform in which users have the freedom to discuss topics of choice to an
extensive and unlimited viewership. Consumers of the news have adapted to forms of new media,
such as online news, blogs, social media sites, and microblogging sites such as Twitter, which not
only has the potential to give users content and information at unimaginably high speed, but also the
opportunity to share their own personal material. This allows for everyone to become a 'journalist '
at a low (or free of) charge at an even faster speed than traditional media organizations, therefore
incorporating a grassroots dimension to the media. Networked technologies such as Twitter provide
a huge social platform for audiences of the media to make a shift from their role as a consumer, to
having the potential in which to become 'producers '. 'We are moving from a traditional "news
cycle" dominated by journalists and

Community Journalism as a Synonym for Small Town Newspapers
Literature Review:
The notion of community journalism is hardly a new one. However, during the past decade, the
concept gained much fascination and interest among industry analysts.
The literature available on the topic points out that the reason behind this strong comeback of
community journalism lies in the fact that most regions where the boom is taking place are
undergoing a transitional phase that paved the way for this shift. The literature, however, refers to
two trends in this matter: the first is the effect of economic transition on the reemergence of
community journalism in countries such as the US and the UK, the second is the effect of political
transition on the emergence of community journalism in countries such as South Africa. In other
words, while the former example shows a rebirth of an old notion as a result of economic decline,
the latter shows an adoption of the concept in the hope of facilitating political transition.
Concerning the effect of economic transition, one theory is that the diminishing influence of larger
newspapers (in the US and the UK) and the decline in number of their circulation allowed localized
news outlets to flourish and become more prominent (Conhaim, 2006).
During these times of financial troubles, local publications had the power to remain profitable by
focusing on small target audiences, and offer unique, concentrated, localized content as their niche
product. So in addition to succeeding in gaining financial prosperity,

Citizen Journalism Protects Human Rights
CITIZEN JOURNALISM PROTECTS HUMAN RIGHTS
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak could have never imagined the Pandora's Box they were unleashing
on the world with their invention of the personal computer, "PC", in 1976. With the emergence of
the internet in 1989, the PC quickly evolved from a data processor and game console, to a
communication device. It has only been within the last decade that it has also developed into a
social media device. User participation on sites like Facebook and Twitter have exploded. Fueling
this technical evolution are a plethora of digital devices specifically designed to work cohesively
with all that the internet has to offer. These devices have gotten smaller, portable and even more user
friendly. The power of the PC now fits in the palm of your hand. The Smartphone, not only has
replaced the PC for a lot of consumers, but the camera, the video camera, the voice recorder, and the
department store as well. More prevalent through these innovations is now the ability for the
average citizen to capture and share, instantaneously, events that typically would only been made
available through the evening news. These events make their way through social media to the
masses. These video clips, photographs and commentary, incite powerful emotion, especially when
exposing human rights violations. Citizen Journalism protect Human rights through exposure of
inequities. This inspires the public to stand up for one another. Social media generates Citizen

Social Media And Its Impact On Journalism
Social media has had a huge impact on the way that journalism is practiced and the way that the
general public perceive news in the present day.
This dissertation aims to identify and explore the use of the different social media platforms,
focusing on the impact that the rise of social media has had on journalism practices. In addition, this
paper will examine the public's responses to the news that they receive through social media
platforms. Examples of social media platforms that this dissertation will include are; 'Twitter',
'Facebook' and 'YouTube' as scholars claim that these are the most frequently used sites in the 21st
century.
This research has been conducted due to the fact that some researchers have claimed that
"journalism is dying" whilst others have argued that "journalism is not dying but is simply evolving"
(Blatchford: 2014). This has been a much contested debate triggered by the decline of news
circulation from traditional news sources i.e. newspapers, television and radio together with the
technological advances of the internet and social media (Cub Reporters: 2010). This has raised
many questions and firstly, this dissertation will assess whether the rise of social media has led to
the decline of news circulation from traditional news sources. Secondly, this paper will look at what
the advantages and disadvantages of using social media as a news distributor are for professional
journalists and the general public. Lastly, this study aims to investigate

The View Of Citizen Journalism
Discuss the view that citizen journalism represents a challenge to commercially–driven,
conglomerate–owned journalism that is important both to the news industry and wider society.
(2136/2000 words)
Prediction 52:
In the future, everyone will be a news reporter.
(Addams, 1997)
Coinciding with the growth of the internet, citizen journalism has generated popularity over the
years and is no longer considered niche. Modernly armed with smartphones and social media
outlets, the general public are often able to record and publish material long before a journalist has
even caught scent of a story. In an industry where being first to publish is highly important it's
understandable why some people might consider citizen journalism a ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
A more complex and positive definition of citizen journalism by Courtney C. Radsch, suggests
public journalism is an 'activist' form of newsgathering that could be an 'alternative' to mainstream
media. Citizen journalism is 'reporting that functions outside mainstream media institutions, often as
a response to shortcoming in the professional journalistic field, that uses similar journalistic
practices but is driven by different objectives and ideals and relies on alternative sources of
legitimacy than traditional or mainstream journalism.' (Jljtan005.blogspot.co.uk, 2014) In the view
of Radsch then, citizen journalists, without the constraints of working for a commercially driven
outlet, are able to make up for shortcomings present in traditional media and are able to offer news
that previously wouldn't have existed.
The growing online communities of citizen journalists might make the medium seem like a modern
phenomenon however as suggested by Heidi Cohen (2011) in her article, How Social Media Helps
Old Media, the concept of citizen journalism can be traced back to the 13th century when town
criers or bellmen made public announcements of news. In a medieval Britain, a large percentage of
the population could neither read nor write and so were informed of goings on by a town crier. This
free supply of trusted information provided Britain's general population with it's first taste of citizen

Citizen Journalism: Questions On The Role Of A Citizen...
Citizen Journalism 1O1
What is citizen journalism?
This is where private citizens perform the same role that professional journalists perform.
Refers to any type of news gathering or reporting (involving writing and publishing articles about a
newsworthy topic or posting photos or views of events) by a member of the general public rather
than a member of mainstream media.
Jay Rosen (Professor of journalism at New York University)– Citizen journalists are people
formerly known as the audience. It is uncomplicated. Not meant to copy mainstream media.
Why become citizen journalist?
A citizen journalist is not a citizen reporter– They use the same professional skills trained journalists
use to tell the story of their community.
You are on ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Consult a friend or colleague. Let them help you think through your idea.
Answer the six questions journalists are required to answer so that you can uncover information that
may not come through an ordinary interview.
What: What is the cause? What is the impact? What is the cost?
Why: Why is it happening? Why does it matter? Why are people concerned?
When: When did it happen? When will it be fixed? When will we know?
Where: Where did it happen? Where is the evidence? Where are those responsible?
Who: Who is involved? Who is doing something about it? Who is affected?
How: How did it happen? How long will it take? How much did/will it cost?
– There are many ways you can look at the questions. This ensures that you have covered all the
basics and you get all the material you need to write your story. You can even get a follow–up angle
to pursue later. Getting into context Context often answers the question: "So What? It helps people
understand why you are telling the story. Why they should care. It is the frame that captures the
importance of your story. It explains the news value of your story. It adds drama to the story and
tells the reader why the story is

Walter Williams Journalism Creed
Walter Williams, the founder of the University of Missouri's Journalism School, believed that unless
journalists were trained as professionals, they would never earn the public's trust. Journalists needed
to be held accountable professionally and personally in order for the profession to endure. In 1914,
Williams wrote the Journalist's creed. The creed was an affirmation of the ethics of journalism.
Although the creed still is the clearest definition of the principles, standards, and values of
journalists, the world is changing, and that includes journalism. Thus, the Journalist's creed needs to
be updated.
Walter Williams did a brilliant job of accentuating the principles of journalism as a profession.
According to the Journalists Creed, the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Technological and media revolutions have freed journalistic duties to anyone with access to the
Internet. Citizens can now practice their own news judgment. The emphasis can no loner be on who
is a journalist but rather how journalism is performed. Thus, journalists have an even more
important task of delivering the truth. Williams believes that journalists should be god–fearing, but
fails to mention other values journalists should have. Our country has experienced social shift since
the creed was originally written, and they should be reflected in the Journalist's Creed. The few
added clauses make the creed completely relatable and accurate to today's

Persuasive Essay On Social Media Bias
In our current day and age biased media runs rampant through millions of televisions and papers in
America, which provides a platform for deceptive and subversive reporting. This ongoing struggle
has grown in recent years and is beginning to cultivate a fan base of one–sided thinkers. The
unremitting attack on political standpoints is beginning to corrupt our political structure, calling for
unjust checks and balances, and the overall downfall of our economic system. The media has an
agenda. Both sides of the political spectrum tend to exploit their opposing views and sensor
slanderous material on their like–minded party. This creates a wall that ultimately makes it harder
for both sides to find common ground. This problem is inevitable in various ways, as it can be
difficult to hold back certain political beliefs. "An official journalistic commitment to neutrality
coexists with the obvious ideological thrust of a thousand specific editorial choices," New York
Times columnist Ross Douthat wrote in 2013. "What kinds of questions are asked about which
politicians; which stories get wall–to–wall coverage and which ones end up buried; which side is
portrayed as aggressors and which side is the aggrieved part, and on and on and on." So why would
anybody advocate for a biased media? ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Buzz Machine blogger Jeff Jarvis states "Of course you have opinions; you're human. I grew up
with the standard of this ethic of objectivity; what happens in American journalism is that we guess
what the hidden agendas are, and that's not healthy for us." This is not to say subjective media calls
for untruthful and unethical reporting, but rather it helps broaden political horizons. An impartial
view tells the same stories from two different standpoints, which creates limited common ground
but a wider sense of

Good Journalism and Citizenship
The world is a hectic mess today. News is happening all around us, and the only source that acts as a
filter between the chaos and ourselves is the media. The media, journalists especially, must hold
upon themselves a great responsibility when they are acting as this filtering apparatus between the
ordered and unordered. But is that the only thing journalism does: make sense of the news? No, it
does much more than that. Good journalism is working, with help from the citizenry, to create an
enlightened Republic filled with citizens who will be well informed of the events which intersect
their lives. There are a number of measures, though, that journalists must take before they can go
from simply making sense of the news to creating an ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
And this is not only a discussion between citizens and citizens or leaders and leaders but rather
between citizens and leaders; the press simply acts as a medium. Justice Douglas wrote in New York
Times Co. v. United States that "[o]pen debate and discussion of public issues are vital to our
national health. On public questions there should be 'uninhibited, robust, and wide–open' debate."
Although debate and discussion are vital to the Republic, maybe society should rethink about how
"uninhibited, robust, and wide–open" those debates really are. Society today tends to think of
debates as two opposing ideas battling each other out in order to ascertain which idea comes out in
first, and, as Kovach and Rosenstiel point out, "a debate focused only on the extremes of argument
does not serve the public but instead leaves most citizens out" (167). The problem with this is that
there are not only one or two given positions on any given issue, but there are many positions. In the
debates that go on today, those positions which are often left out are often those which are also most
agreeable with each other. So instead of letting debates focus only on the extremes, "[t]he public
forum must include the broad areas of agreement, where most of the public resides and where the
solutions to society's problems are found" (Kovach and Rosenstiel 167). And since it is the news
media which

The Significant Roles Of Citizen Journalism And The Role...
When it comes to journalism, citizen journalism is not any different from what democracy is when it
comes to politics and civic life. It allows for the active participation of the citizens in news gathering
and reporting. The advancements that have taken place in the field of technology have enabled
people to gain an opportunity to become producers of content that they used to be consumers of in
the past through the mainstream media. Today, everyone has an opportunity to become a citizen
journalist (Allan and Einar 76). There is an array of social media platforms and accounts whose key
role is to disseminate information to the public, especially in cases where individuals may feel that
conventional journalism would want to shield the public from some information. Citizen journalists
employ an extensive range of methods in the generation and dissemination of information. Much of
these are driven by the advancements that have taken place in the field of technology and the forms
of communication available to the public. These include the internet, the mobile phone, and the
different camera gadgets which can all be employed in the gathering and sharing of information
(DeMers, 89). One of the significant roles that citizen journalism could play in the society would be
to fill the gap that is often left by traditional media as they try to play their role as the protector of
public interest. The internet provides the technical means, while the citizens play the active

Personal Statement: Thomas Jefferson Alumna
My Name is Arij Ben M'barek, I am a Thomas Jefferson Alumna. I studied Business at West Liberty
University,WV . I got accepted recently to a citizen journalism program. I am very concerned with
the issues and challenges we face in our region and I find it a great opportunity to discuss and share
these common topics with MENA (Middle East and Northern Africa) youth as a Tunisian. News and
information has always been important to our community and in our daily lives. The new media
technology, such as social networking and blogs, has made citizen journalism more accessible to
people worldwide.
YaLa Citizen Journalism is 4 month online training program that starts this September 2015 .It
includes weekly online classes and seminars to help us become

Citizen Journalism
Joan Cornell notes that the Internet democratizes the journalism which was in the hand of the few
people (2003). The Internet makes the public access to information; at the same time, it creates the
public to be journalists, opening blogs to put something new around on the Internet. Many news
websites like The Guardian, the Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC allows some personification.
The journalism nowadays is facing challenges not only from media and technology convergence,
but also from audience they serve (Bowman and Willis 2003). For example, in MSNBC's my MSN
part, one can post news by yourself. While the audience are participating in the process of
journalism with the aid of the Internet, it cannot be neglected by mainstream media. ... Show more
No matter what the result is, Media Matters makes its effort to make the public access to more
information. The public get the rid of being directed or being "controlled" by traditional mainstream
media. The long established trust that audience give to the traditional media has been broken,
leading the audience to get the rid of being passively receivers (Bowman and Willis 2003).
Citizen journalism challenges the traditional statue of mainstream media, providing the public
alternative access to more information. This gives the public the choice to select news and to
become active news receivers.
Interactivity
The involvement of citizen journalism not only democratizes the media industry, but it serves as "a
new added intermediary" rather than "ultimate authority" to connect audience and information
access (Bowman and Willis 2003: 49). A new relationship between journalists and audience has
been created, with "comment" as a link following the article. For example, Deborah Hobson (2011)
in OMNI posted a piece of news article originated from the latest.com, "UK citizen journalism site
exposes hypocrisy of British media over Libya bombings". Four readers left long comments to this
article. Whether agree or disagree with the opinion the article represents, these readers all provide
reasons to support their opinions, which have changed the stereotype thoughts about readers who
just passively

‘Debate Whether Galtung and Ruge's (1967) Model of the...
‘DEBATE WHETHER GALTUNG AND RUGE'S (1967) MODEL OF THE NEWS VALUE IS
STILL RELEVANT IN AN AGE OF NEW MEDIA, CITIZEN JOURNALISM AND USER–
GENERATED CONTENT.'
The media in Western society provides a ‘fourth estate' that alleges a neutral, objective and
balanced perspective, independent of political input. The news forms the basis of this ‘fourth
estate', playing an important role in keeping the public informed and therefore promoting democracy
(Marris and Thornham, 1996).
Daily there are millions of possible news headlines of which, only a small sample are published
(Harcup and O'Neill, 2001). Journalists appear to have an unvoiced compilation of guidelines or
news values passed down through education as well as industry experience, which ... Show more
It is this judgement and the reasons behind it, which was studied by Galtung and Ruge and so it is
arguable that their theory is still highly relevant.
However, it is undeniable that since the production of Galtung and Ruge's paper in 1967, journalism
has frequently been reported to be suffering a " significant deterioration " (Ursell, 2001) in terms
of quality and production. This view is reinforced by Franklin (1997) whose study discovered a
movement from traditional news such as politics written to inform, towards news written with the
purpose of entertainment. Franklin's findings support his suggestion that broadsheet newspapers
have an increasingly tabloid agenda, which may be a result of user–generated content being used to
inform journalists what the readership wish to read about. E.g. coverage about celebrities instead of
politics (Franklin, 1997 cited in Ursell, 2001). Using Galtung and Ruge's news values, this
particular example would fall under the category of ‘Elite People' (see AX p. 10) yet the coverage
of celebrities although prominent in today's society, was not the intended news story that this
category was created for. This emphasises that while the categories may be broadly

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Citizen Journalism
The advantages and disadvantages of citizen journalism and professional journalism
In this era, the popularity of citizen journalism has spread throughout all over the world. As a matter
of fact, more and more people are starting to take benefit of content publishers. This can be seen in
Television news, such as winter snow photos, traffic accidents or local sporting events. However, it
leaves a question, what exactly is news anyway? What do you need to be a citizen journalist? What
is its impact on today's fast–paced society? Basically, a lot of people think this is a great thing and it
can be a good tool for promoting interaction between the media community and the community.
There are pros and cons of citizen journalism, we need to face this issue critically and dialectically
(Techopedia, 2017). On the one hand, citizen journalism has some benefits that professional
journalism can not provide. Firstly, comparing with professional journalism, citizen journalism
provides a wider range of news and fills the gaps in mainstream media. The main body of the
dissemination of citizen journalism is ordinary citizens rather than professional journalists or
professional media. People can through the Facebook, microblog,Twitter to publish news which
happened around their life. Delicacy, beautiful scenery, sports events, entertainments, political
commentary can be seen in Weibo, Twitter, Facebook and so on. Secondly, citizen journalism could
stimulate the interest of audience. Most audiences enjoy reading ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
The most significant advantage of professional journalism is authority and accuracy. We are able to
read the news from television, newspapers, radio, all of these news are from professional journalists.
They through interviews, collecting materials, several times to verify the news before publishing.
These news are more credible than citizen journalism. Lindner et al (2015, p. 555 ) explain

Citizen Journalism
I.3.1 The definition of Citizen Journalism
Citizen journalism, can be defined as a community news and informationshared online and/or in
print. The content is generated by users and readers. It can betext / blogs, digital storytelling,
images, audio file, podcasting or video. Feedback anddiscussion on issues raised is received in the
same way.2
Citizen journalism is a form of citizen media – where individuals write and orcomment on issues
they feel are left out of the mainstream media. Many issuesaddressed in citizen journalism tend to
be covered in a superficial way by themainstream media3.
Mark Glaser, in his article, explains the main idea of the citizen journalism.The idea behind citizen
journalism is that people without professional ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Now even reporters of Iranian nationality are being confined totheir offices. According to Reporters
without Borders (RSF), 26 Iranian journalists,editors and bloggers have been imprisoned since June
14.12 It shows that whenmainstream media can't cover up the whole story, citizen journalism can
give us morecover on what mainstream media uncover. So, citizen journalism can be a
supportingsystem for mainstream media to catch news. As opportunities continue to arise forcitizen
journalism to prove its value, the mainstream media is likely to incorporate itwith increasing
frequency and develop new ways of working closer with citizenjournalism agencies.
Development of technology raises the role of internet as media for citizenjournalism. People are
now having wider access for writing and made opinion aboutan event. Technology is a facilitator for
moving information," and the availability ofinformation has in turn affected the fields of
philanthropy, education, media,government (e.g. The Sunlight Foundation), and many more.13 One
of the factor in theemerge of citizen journalism is development of technology. Citizen journalism
canhave more access to wider coverage area of information, because internet as mainmedia where
most citizen journalism take place, can be accessed in all over the world.Another example of how
powerful citizen journalism in spreading the news is tragedyof London's bombingin

History Is A Repetition Of Events
History is a repetition of events: war after war, economic crisis after economic crisis, technology
outdoing itself as we speak. A line of events that for centuries have been reported by the world's
oldest storytellers: journalists. Yet, the future of journalism itself has never been as uncertain and
unpredictable as it has been in the past decade and the role of 'gatekeepers' of news has never been
more precarious.
The digital era has brought traditional journalism to the edge, forcing the industry to update its
means in order to sustain the constant commercial pressure it is put under.
On some level, the digital era disrupted an already easily corruptible industry, while from another
perspective, it has opened new opportunities for innovation and renovation, which could mean the
restoring of such criticized profession.
It is inferable that the 'Fourth Estate', as in journalism acting as a watchdog and as provider of
objective and impartial news, is in great danger.
The pressure to maximise profits and the frequent censorship, both as a result of government
control, and market ownership, have undermined the industry's professionalism as a whole.
At the same time, new media has been claimed to be a dynamic tool to enhance democracy, as it
allows citizens to bypass the traditional mainstream news media and to get access to a plurality of
information coming from alternative and independent news providers and online watchdog
organizations, untouched by any kind of pressure.

Significant Efforts in Turkmenistan
Significant efforts to develop a journalistic identity and media freedom have stumbled badly in
Central Asia, primarily Turkmenistan. The state controlled media system that is currently in place
has prevented any citizen voice in Turkmen media. Since 1992, journalism and free media in
Turkmenistan have been on a downward spiral. Unfortunately, prospects for developing a
believable, fact–based journalism look grim for this region. Thus, the citizens of Turkmenistan are
forced to be unaware of the world around them and to accept that all information is altered by the
state.
Journalism and media in the Central Asian region such as Turkmenistan are in worse shape than the
rest of the Western world. To research this idea, secondary research sources are used to develop a
more concrete idea about the state of media in Turkmenistan. One of the most confounding elements
of the research found is that journalism in Turkmenistan is a hopeless occupation. Many of the
citizens are forced to fear the occupation, and thus, be forced to pursue another avenue.
Consequently, those who endeavor to aid the state of media and journalism in Turkmenistan should
expect minimal result. Many attempts to relinquish media freedom have led to empty promises and
low expectations.
Based on the history of the region, the future of journalism and media seems negative.
Unfortunately, with over two terms of dictators promoting the state–run media, the citizens of
Turkmenistan are stuck in a downward

Research Paper On Tumbl
I started using a Tumblr for my Social Media class. When I first started using Tumblr, I could tell
that it was a much different platform than Facebook. The things I would post would just not go over
well with my family and friends who would just believe what they would see on television. I've had
bad experiences on Facebook for posting just about everything, but that was a while back. They
took quite an offense to some of the things I would post about that are going on in not only America
but on a global level. Let's begin with my experiences and expectations with Tumblr first.
Since opening up my Tumblr account, I decided to be more enigmatic and in the dark. I would post
some simple blogs each week on the Comm2311 blog, but no one really replied to them even after I
commented and clicked "like" on their blogs. I really didn't have any expectations, and I was still
enjoying being part of a new social network. When on a new type of social media, the first thing I
like to do is test the waters in a sense. I like to see how people use it and how everyone is reacting
before I start posting lots of information. After some consideration, I wondered what would happen
if I breached social media etiquette and started sharing random YouTube videos and off–topic posts
on our Comm2311 blog.
The first time I broke social media etiquette on Tumblr was when I posted a random YouTube video
and captioned it "Feminism is a Prison" without any context on my class' Comm2311 blog. I

Citizen Journalism Essay
Citizen journalism is defined as any news content, such as articles, videos etc. created by amateurs.
Traditional and citizen journalism are often contrasted to each other, however it is important to note
the similarities alongside the differences. Because of the growing popularity of citizen journalism
due to new technologies such as social media websites, it is essential to weigh the risks and
opportunities to truly see how citizen journalism is affecting the world. It is vital to assess citizen
journalism and its benefits of collaboration and pluralising voices, alongside the risks of
inauthenticity, bias and causing an erosion in the quality of news, in order to fully understand its
impacts.
The pluralisation of voices that citizen journalism offers is considered one of the many benefits.
According to Melissa Wall (2015) this allows for new and important opinions and perspectives on
multiple events. For example, in rural India poor internet rates and a language barrier made it nearly
impossible for the majority of citizens to listen to the professional media. In order to expose more
citizens in India to local events, Shubhranshu Choudhary founded CGNet, which developed into a
mobile–phone service, allowing for everyday citizens to report in on and listen to local events in
their native language. This leads to more, albeit unprofessional, perspectives on events from
residents (Chadha & Steiner, 2015). The internet has been credited with having "altered
relationships with

Essay on What´s Citizen Journalism or Public Journalism?
The term citizen journalism or public journalism has spread widely around world as it has been
connected to publishing the news and information. It can be defined simply as an alternative source
of news which is produced and published by the general public. The concept of citizen journalism is
not a new phenomenon and it has started long time ago. What has changed is the importance and the
prevalence of the citizen journalists as an alternative source of information and news worldwide.
There is an argument whether citizen journalism has transferred the news positively or negatively.
Some experts argue that citizen journalism has many disadvantages such as lack of credibility and
low objectivity which make it unreliable source of news ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
They may use their blogs for illegal purposes for example, a blogger named David Milum defamed
a bank by giving judges money to protect some drug dealers, and he did not provide any evidence to
support his claim then he was sentenced to pay $ 50,000 to the bank (cited Hughes 2010, p.46).
What's more, a citizen journalist published news about a plane crash in George Charles airport but
the true event was the plane had an emergency landing not a crash (Barnes 2012, p.3). These
evidence indicate how citizen journalists influence their practice of journalism by using some
personal information which does not based on facts. Therefore, unreal information which come from
personal beliefs affect public journalism badly leading to decrease audiences' trust in their news and
information.
Another perspective view which provides more reasoned argument is that citizen journalism has
many good advantages. The most important advantage is that citizen journalism play an important
role in democratization of society. Barnes (2012, p.4) points out that public journalism has
significantly supported revolutions in many countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen by using
social media. In addition, democratic journalism promote chances of society participation for
example, the freedom of speech in South Asian countries has been improved through the work of
citizen journalism on the internet (Kaul 2012, p.7).By

Essay Citizen Journalism vs. Mainstream Media
Citizen journalism is news that comes from the larger public and not well– known and legitimate
news agencies like, The Washington Post or The Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Citizen journalism can be
most recognized in the form of blogs or wiki sites. 15211 is a citizen journalism site that is based in
Mt. Washington which is a small part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The title of the blog relates to the
blog because it is the zip code for Mount Washington residents. The blog discusses current events
that are going on in the Mount Washington area only; the site masters are completely open to
criticism and understand that not everyone agrees or likes what is being discussed. A mainstream
media outlet close to Mount Washington is the Pittsburgh ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
That is the point of a blog and we intend to keep true to the medium. We know that our opinions
may not be yours and vice versa, but we respect the fact that you're here...."
This allows more people to openly express their opinion and respond to the opinion of the creator
without feeling judged. Another upside to citizen journalism is that it is very easy to share and
connect with the site and the other followers. On the 15211 home page they have a tiny box in the
middle of the page that allows you to share or bookmark the site to 11 different social networking
sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google Bookmarks. On the site, the blog creators also allow
people to view a live Twitter comment feed on the website so that they don't have to have Twitter to
view the comments people are making about the blog posts.
Citizen Journalism good at sharing information and allowing others to participate in the discussion,
but being completely opinionated and specific on one topic is not always a good thing. On negative
thing about citizen journalism is that they mostly only apply to specific publics/audiences and
although the internet has many different blogs and wiki sites that attract all people, it still doesn't
cover everyone, especially older generations who are against the change in the way that we view
and access our information. Being able to expand to just more than one specific public might help
increase the recognition just like

Disadvantages Of Citizen Journalism

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

More from Liz Brown

More from Liz Brown (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Disadvantages Of Citizen Journalism