Citizen journalism involves ordinary citizens playing an active role in collecting, reporting, analyzing, and disseminating news and information. It is based on public citizens offering eyewitness reports via social media and the internet. Examples of citizen journalism include eyewitness reports from events like the 2005 London bombings. While citizen journalism can provide a strong consensus picture of events, it also brings concerns about the balance between fact and opinion in reporting.

1. Social Media
and
Citizen Journalism
Lauren Sfeir

3. “ordinary citizens offering…”
(Allan et al, 2007)

4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58iZpMRclwI

5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcYSmRZuep4&feature=related

6. “based upon public citizens "playing an
active role in the process of collecting,
reporting, analysing, and disseminating
news and information.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism
Bowman, S. and Willis, C. "We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of
News and Information." 2003, The Media Center at the American Press Institute.

7. “You can really get a good consensus picture of what’s
going on that’s stronger than any one news
organisation could offer… So many people are on the
ground in different places. And people pick up very
quickly which are the bloggers to read, and they bring
that information forefront and amplify it”
- Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia
(Allan et al)

8. Partnership

9. Partnership
Example – London bombings
“our reporting on this story was a
genuine collaboration, enabled by
consumer technology…the result was
transformational in its impact … From
now on, news coverage is a
partnership”
(Sambrook, 2005)

10. Partnership
(Sambrook, 2005.)

12. “As the Crisis
deepens, the
journalism has not.”
(Schechter, 2005)

13. “What we need is
“inside out” and
bottom up
coverage”
(Schechter, 2005)

14. Value of citizen journalism
“We can actively ask questions of our audience
that can build a rapid picture of unfolding
events”
(Horrocks, 2008.)

15. Time to talk
In what ways do you think citizenship journalism
successful?
How much of citizen journalism is fact, and how
much is opinion?

16. Time to talk
What are the positives and negatives of citizen
journalism?
Does citizen journalism have a positive or a
negative impact on traditional journalism?