By definition, citizen journalism is the collection, dissemination, and analysis of news and information by the general public, especially by means of the internet. Citizen Journalism can also be known as “democratic”, “guerrilla”, “street”, or “public” journalism. This means that the general public picks up news and information and spreads it to other citizens. Unlike other journalists, citizen journalists spread information for free, weather it be through articles, blog posts, tweets or simply comments on Tripadvisor. Some newspapers today, now even give people the opportunity and encourage people to contribute in a separate column.
The idea of citizen journalism is very controversial though, because some journalists believe that their profession is being undermined. They see journalism as something that should be strictly professional, and that unqualified citizens should not be attempting to imitate their work. They think that citizen journalism is unreliable and unregulated, so it should not be trusted compared to their own professional journalism. On the other hand, there are also some journalists that see civic journalism to be very helpful. With that being said, they of course still believe that the citizens producing their work should be following simple rules and ethics of journalism so that they can post responsibly.
Many professionals are actually benefitting from the journalism coming from citizens, by having access too it and being able to use it with, or without permission. Chris Shaw, the editorial director of ITN Productions states “Social networks are opening up whole new vistas for documentary filmmakers…You can make the most amazing films using content from social networks, sometimes with the permission and sometimes without the permission of the people who shot them.” He produced a documentary for Channel 4 called Syria’s Torture Machine in which he used about 30,000 different clips from everyday people. This information from citizen journalists was so useful because professional journalists do not have the ability to go into Syria and report.
New media outlets, along with the availability of technology is helping to rapidly spread the use and production of citizen journalism. With cell phones so easily accessible, citizens are sometimes able to report news faster than actual reporters. An example of this would be the Paris attacks, which I have discussed in previous articles. Another example of this would be the Arab Spring, where citizens used journalism to inform, shape opinions, and influence change. Everyday people used social platforms to not only spread democratic ideas and also encourage protest. Citizen journalists also helped to spread the word all over the world regarding what was really going on in the Middle East. During both these two times of distress, citizen journalism was very helpful in spreading the word not only in that specific area, but all over the world. This all relates back to the concept of Mobile Journalism, because many of these citizen journalists are also practicing mobile journalism as they tweet, blog, and post from their cell phones.
Citizen journalism is also not confined strictly to news, but it is also extremely prevalent in everyday life. Even if you do not realize it, every time you read the comments or reviews on a hotel, restaurant, or bar, you are using citizen journalism and every time you write a review or comment you are producing citizen journalism. As people, we tend to trust these reviews and comments because we know that they are unbiased, since they are not working for that particular restaurant or hotel. I think it is very important to engage in civic journalism, even when it is as simple as writing a review for a restaurant, because it is beneficial to the general public.
Barcelona 2016 