Citizen journalism presentation

1. Citizen JournalismCrisis events & conflict zonesSusannah Waters

2. “Histories of Citizen Journalism” – Stuart Allen Allen: 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 information Citizen journalism: often associated with crisis events.

3. Boxing day tsunami

4. Boxing day tsunami The 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 technologies BUT “the Internet remains far from universally available”. -- G. Meikle. Other notable events: September 11 London bombings Hurricane Katrina After 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 2003 Soon recast as a source of citizen reporting The 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 websites Provide 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 2010 Surge in citizen journalism Citizen’s Eye: global platform for citizen journalism. Chapters: Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, UK Pakistani 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=mI3murr9hhk http://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 censorship Graininess of footage e.g. London Bombings – more compelling, raw.

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. BIBLIOGRAPHY Allan, 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-1 Gupta, A 2009, quoted in Al Jazeera report, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VGzm7YNSJg Internet Usage Statistics 2010, Internet World Stats 30 June, http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm McAthy, R 2010, ‘Pakistan floods: mainstream media turns to citizen journalism’, Journalism.co.uk 5 August, http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/539954.php McCarthy, R 2003, ‘Salam’s Story’, The Guardian 30 May, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/may/30/iraq.digitalmedia Meikle, 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=76520 Srinivas, S 2005, ‘Online Citizen Journalists Respond to South Asian Disaster’, OJR 7 January, http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/050107srinivas/