I still remembered Miss Chay Hofilena, our lecturer in last semester told us the origin of Citizen Journalism:
“Citizen Journalism is a reaction of the public to mainstream journalism's failings. We may regard it as an attempt to reassert their right to access and provide information which they feel the media have not provided adequately. Thus, it is right in saying the citizen journalism democratizes information and even the news process which has been the exclusive domain of journalists for the longest time.”
From 9/11 terrorist attacks, tsunami, flooding, hurricanes, bombing, to national election, Citizen Journalism has opened the door to a free flow of information. It also turns the journalism from the single to multiple sources of information.
According to Samuel Freedman, Citizen Journalism is refers to anybody with a video camera or cell-phone or blog who posts photographs, live-action film, or written reports on news events. It also represents a democratization of media, a shattering of the power of the unelected elite, the ordinary citizen can be empower to be a journalist, we can call them "Netizens".
In Malaysia, some newspapers started to ask the readers or viewers to provide photos, video clip or other imagines to publish or broadcast on their media.
The most influential Malaysia’s blogger, Jeff Ooi of http://www.jeffooi.com/, is becoming an “opinion shaper” on discussing over the sensitive issues. It always challenged the credibility of the mainstream newspapers in a critical manner when the mainstream media are trying to play down some public issues.
Besides Jeff Ooi, former journalist Susan Loone (http://sloone.wordpress.com/) also has been blogging to bring out series of stories from the different angle on the murder case of Mongolian model, Altantuya.
Citizen journalist poses new challenges to mainstream media, country's press system and media policy.
I agree with Mark Glaser, in the paper of “Your Guide to Citizen Journalism”, he stated that “journalism is undergoing its reformational moment. By that I mean that the internet is affecting journalism just as the printing press affected the Church—people are bypassing the sacrosanct authority of the journalist in the same way as Luther asserted that individuals could have a direct relationship with God without the intermediary of the priest. The internet has disintermediated middlemen in other industries, why should journalism be immue?” As such, Mark Glaser believed it is a positive thing for journalism, because it enables something journalism has lacked: competition from the very public we serve.
However, Mark Glaser did not discuss the question have been posed by the citizen journalism: the competence of the citizen journalist and clutter of information and whether these would aid the quality of public discourse or discussion. How the amateur journalist be trained to report a news? How the citizen journalism media keep the high standards of gate-keeping and principle of journalism?
1 comment:
Hi Joshua,
"However, Mark Glaser did not discuss the question have been posed by the citizen journalism: the competence of the citizen journalist and clutter of information and whether these would aid the quality of public discourse or discussion. How the amateur journalist be trained to report a news? How the citizen journalism media keep the high standards of gate-keeping and principle of journalism?"
I agree on the question of the citizen journalist's competence and on maintaining the standards of journalism. I think, though, that they take their cue from traditional journalists. While I agree with the idea that CJ resulted from disillusionment with the mainstream or traditional media, I don't think that is an absolute -- at least in the case of bloggers. The Internet has been a liberating force and anyone can publish a blog easily. Anyone who wants to contribute to news production and be involved in public life can act as a citizen journo.
In this case, the citizen journo would follow the examples set by the traditional journo. The standards of truth, accuracy, fairness, and so on -- if they have been established by the traditional journos -- would be the guiding principles of citizen journalists as well. Hopefully. :)
Thanks!
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