Citizen journalism became prominent after crisis events like the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami where hundreds of regular people used personal devices to document and share visual coverage, providing a firsthand perspective. This set a precedent where citizen journalism grew significantly during disasters and conflicts when professional journalists had limited access. Examples include the 2010 Pakistan floods where citizen reporting platforms like Citizen's Eye provided grassroots coverage and became a source for mainstream media. While citizen journalism provides immediacy and independence, issues exist with verification and potential for propaganda without fact-checking.

1. Citizen JournalismCrisis events & conflict zonesSusannah Waters

2. “Histories of Citizen Journalism” – Stuart AllenAllen: citizen journalism has “secured its place in journalism’s vocabulary”Boxing day 2004 tsunami: video footage, images from mobile phones & cameras, and personal accounts News organisations utilised this wealth of informationCitizen journalism: often associated with crisis events.

3. Boxing day tsunami

4. Boxing day tsunamiThe significancewas highlighted by media commentators & journalists just days following the event.They agreed it represented a “tipping point” in citizen journalism and that it was the first time that hundreds of regular people produced powerful coverage of a large news event. Channel 4 UK made a special “Tsunami: Caught on Camera”, all composed from citizen video footage, released in 2009.

5. Online & mobile reporting: crisis events Significant rise in internet usage and uptake of digital technologiesBUT“the Internet remains far from universally available”. -- G. Meikle.Other notable events:September 11London bombingsHurricane KatrinaAfter these events, claims that citizen journalism was a “fad” were discounted

6. WAR: WHERE IS RAED? Began as a personal blog Evolved as he began documenting “life on the ground” in Iraq from 2003Soon recast as a source of citizen reportingThe Guardian (2003): “his weblog had blossomed… from idle chat to startling reportage”.

7. “One day, like in Afghanistan, those journalists will get bored and go write about Syria or Iran; Iraq will be off your media radar. Out of sight, out of mind. Lucky you, you have that option. I have to live it”. -- May 2003

8. Citizen journalism websitesProvide people a direct outlet to post reportage.Sri Lanka: “groundviews”.“to strengthen… marginalised yet vital voices… this site was the first attempt in Sri Lanka to create a means through which citizens in civil society could pen their own perspectives of lifein conflict zones, call attention to humanitarian emergencies, give information on security / ground conditions and present alternatives to the status quo”.http://www.groundviews.org/

10. Pakistan floods 2010Surge in citizen journalismCitizen’s Eye: global platform for citizen journalism. Chapters: Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, UKPakistani founder, Mudassar Khan: offers “grassroots” news – mainstream media limited to “helicopter journalism”.

11. Tagline: Views & News directly from Citizens http://www.citizenseye.com/Citizen’s Eye was contacted by newspapers and a TV channel in Pakistan wanting to use contributors as sources.“…we as a citizen journalism body became the source of news for mainstream media” – Khan.

12. Pakistan floods: video footage“CITIZENTUBEis a feed of the latest breaking news videos on YouTube”.http://www.citizentube.com/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI3murr9hhkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icOTusCqhL0

13. Advantages of citizen journalism“Embedded reporting” – CJs are on the scene: - Regular journalists often can’t access a crisis/conflict scene immediately or at all due to danger- On-the-ground perspective: rather than traditional reporting which reports at arm’s length- Personal, raw, revealing – compelling reportage- Easy access to other witnesses- Event reported “as it happens” – immediacy. E.g. London Bombings- Consequently, beat international media to story. Content often appropriated by mainstream media

14. Advantages cont...Reportage independent of large news organisations Free of government & military agenda and defies censorshipGraininess of footage e.g. London Bombings – more compelling, raw.

15. DisadvantagesConfirming validity is difficult: - Fact-checking may not be as thorough, info may be inaccurateProblematic re: mainstream media’s use of CJ material. Arun Gupta, The Indypendent: “There is potential for just an enormous amount of propaganda and disinformation being spread through Twitter and one has absolutely no way of knowing it”. SubjectiveAccess to Internet & digital technology - not universal.

16. Steve Outing:[New media expert] “And as with September 11, the tsunamis changed the media landscape. They thrust into the limelight an army of accidental journalists. Perhaps as a result, now is the time when citizen reporters will begin to join the ranks of journalism's working class in informing the public -- not as professional equals, yet in some ways as important in the grand scheme of news”.

17. BIBLIOGRAPHYAllan, S 2009, ‘Histories of Citizen Journalism’, in A Stuart and E Thorsen (eds), Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives, New York: Peter Lang, pp 17-32.Channel 4 2009, Tsunami Caught on Camera, 29 December, http://www.channel4.com/programmes/tsunami-caught-on-camera/episode-guide/series-1/episode-1Gupta, A 2009, quoted in Al Jazeera report, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VGzm7YNSJgInternet Usage Statistics 2010, Internet World Stats 30 June, http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htmMcAthy, R 2010, ‘Pakistan floods: mainstream media turns to citizen journalism’, Journalism.co.uk 5 August, http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/539954.phpMcCarthy, R 2003, ‘Salam’s Story’, The Guardian 30 May, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/may/30/iraq.digitalmediaMeikle, G 2009, Interpreting News, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 170-195.Outing, S 2005, ‘Taking tsunami coverage into their own hands’, Poynter Online 6 January, http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=76520Srinivas, S 2005, ‘Online Citizen Journalists Respond to South Asian Disaster’, OJR 7 January, http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/050107srinivas/