BLOG POST 3 – BCM111
In a time where technology has revolutionized the world, and we have become our own purveyors of information, we sometimes need to evaluate the credibility of our sources on which we find through the internet. Thanks to the exponential growth of technology, it is not uncommon for the public to read news via social media, a radical change away from the traditional means of newspapers and television broadcasts. The rise of social media allows us to send information to each other outside the limits of the mainstream press, often raising awareness of issues and actualities that the news does not capture or takes reason to speak about.
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With our shifting and ever-growing world, our media sphere is drastically changing from day-to-day. Through the launch of the ‘Web 2.0’, the transition from conventional passive users to the growth of engaged viewers took place. As claimed by Ivaylo Yoshkov “The audience was no longer a passive consumer of the information, it became an information creator.” (Yoshkov, 2016)
Citizen journalism is entering and influencing today’s world news ecosystem through its interconnected reporting, conventional and independent news sources, new social news sharing and user-generated content – it attracts a lot of public attention.
Many people tend to collect information from blogs and podcasts, posted by ordinary people, not professional journalists, and they believe these sources to be far more transparent, objective and accurate than mainstream media. While some hold the opposite perspective and argue that public media does not meet the standards of rationality and integrity.
As a person who collects the majority of the world-wide news form their social media timelines, I personally believe that citizen journalism obtains both positive and negative aspects. Citizen journalism has the power to “live report” through eg. Live-tweeting or recording to warn other members of the public when there is danger, harm etc.
Contrastingly, citizen journalism submitted by users “are not edited, fact-checked or screened before they post” (Allan and Thorsen, 2009) and what they are posting is captured within the streets, meaning that it doesn’t contain the same type of support and reliability as professional journalists. Therefore, it doesn’t take away the possibility that the public could be reporting on something that could be misconstruing as the public doesn’t obtain all the relevant information.
Citizen Journalism in terms of the rest of the world?
The influence of citizen journalism on mainstream journalism and community involvement is often addressed in Western democratic societies. We know very little about Citizen Journalism and its social and political effects in non-democratic societies like China. “A country where mainstream media are still under tight control while social conflicts are intensifying, and nationalistic sentiments are exacerbating” (Xin, 2010), as China ranks 177th / 180th on the World Press Freedom Index.
The impact of Citizen journalism on Chinese mass media and culture is very multifaceted. There is evidence that Citizen journalism is used by mainstream journalism as a news outlet as well as an unofficial platform for the dissemination of politically sensitive material.
It can also be argued that Citizen journalism will cooperate successfully with Mainstream journalism to make it more difficult for the Party to monitor online information flows within the region, even though Citizen journalism alone is unlikely to be a driving force in fostering social change in China.
In the meantime, Chinese citizen journalism is also developing itself as a forum for voicing nationalism.
Yoshkov, I., 2016. CULTURE, IDENTITY AND CITIZEN JOURNALISM IN BULGARIAN ONLINE MEDIA. [ebook] Bulgaria, p.113. Available at: <https://www.academia.edu/43423762/CULTURE_IDENTITY_AND_CITIZEN_JOURNALISM_IN_BULGARIAN_ONLINE_MEDIA> [Accessed 1 September 2020].
Allan, S. and Thorsen, E., 2009. Citizen Journalism; Global Perspectives. 1st ed. [ebook] New York: Peter Lang. Available at: <https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=MFh_D-eGQWsC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=citizen+journalism&ots=WcAAcsEvA-&sig=wi9IaB9IWFysWTeGtOWbfrzSEPk&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false> [Accessed 1 September 2020].
Xin, X., 2010. THE IMPACT OF “CITIZEN JOURNALISM” ON CHINESE MEDIA AND SOCIETY. [online] Taylor & Francis. Available at: <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17512781003642931?scroll=top&needAccess=true> [Accessed 2 September 2020].
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