The Digital Age Journalist

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    We have either been that person or know that person. That person likes to record every moment, whether at a town hall meeting, concert, or girls' night out. If you are on Twitter, you have seen or followed threads of individuals giving step-by-step action from scenes worldwide. Most of those who show no interest in being in or a part of the spotlight often sit back and wait on the news to cover certain events or hear about it from someone else. Those who consider themselves citizen journalists are always first on the scene and capture angles most news media would not dare touch. Most self-pronounced journalists have large audiences and followings on social media, websites, and blogs. Believe it or not, some news media journalists follow them to get leads on stories. 

    Citizen journalism is journalism executed by people who are not professional journalists who publish information using Web sites, blogs, and social media. Citizen journalists can work individually or work with organizations. Citizen journalists who work on their posts on social media like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to broadcast their comments, photos, and videos. Some create blogs and websites to publish their materials to acquire more followers and readers. Those who work with organizations, typically news outlets, are often used to comment on published articles to create discussion on specific posts. They often crowdsource, which means they use crowds to get information to send back to news stations. Some citizen journalists use Live Vlogging as a source to generate content. As you may have noticed, almost every social media site has a "Go Live" option to broadcast to followers. The "Go Live" feature is to broadcast concerts, bad weather, community events, protests, or to express their feelings towards an event. (Group n.d.)

    Citizen journalists often have the first dibs to contribute on crucial instances because they are always available or there when things begin to unfold. Citizen journalists also spotlight marginalized groups and local communities that do not receive much attention; they have easy access to large audiences and speak for the betterment of their community. 

While being a citizen journalist sounds helpful, there are some disadvantages to being one. Sometimes there is misinformation, confusing viewers and disrupting their personal views and opinions. Viewers are likelier to believe citizen journalism because it comes from someone in the neighborhood. Over the years, viewers have lost their trust in new sources and put more trust in posts/videos they see on social media from someone they may know. (Group n.d.)

 

    In Melissa Wall's book Citizen Journalism: Practices, Propaganda, Pedagogy, she writes about engaged and enraged citizen journalism. Engaged citizen journalism supports activism. For instance, engaged citizen journalism spotlights the unfair treatment of marginalized groups, such as shootings of unarmed African Americans, disrupting the land of Native Americans, or polluted water in poverty-stricken areas. This type of journalism challenges news outlets by creating a counter-narrative of stories in mainstream news. First-hand stories b citizen journalists often victimize the victim rather than criminalize them. It sometimes offers biased information based on what the writer saw or heard while on the scene. Journalists typically have an issue crossing social barriers because their materials must be unbiased. 

    Wall highlights the land taken from indigenous people and the killing of African Americans and says that the people of these communities "have assumed the role of news creators and distributors . . . producing their own news." Engaged citizens of these communities have little to no desire to watch or learn from traditional news outlets. These citizen journalists have gone as far as recording, blogging, and tweeting moments of injustice. They often call out traditional news outlets for their lack of coverage. Citizen journalists often post quicker and have better content, such as photos and videos, because they are usually in the middle of the action instead of on the outside like professional journalists. (Wall 2019)

    Engaged citizen journalists believe they can create change in their communities. They spotlight injustice and inconveniences in their neighborhoods by being the first to report, consistently reporting issues, and researching help and ways to improve. They often capture relatable, raw emotions instead of forced or somewhat scripted interviews. (Wall 2019) Engaged citizen journalists believe they can create change in their communities. They spotlight injustice and inconveniences in their neighborhoods by being the first to report, consistently reporting issues, and researching help and ways to improve. They often capture relatable, raw emotions instead of forced or somewhat scripted interviews.

    Unlike engaged citizen journalism, enraged citizen journalism works to destroy traditional news media. The enraged worked to create news of their own. Engaged citizens resist oppression, while enraged citizens work to suppress others. Enraged journalists are usually politically alt-right viewers. Enraged citizen journalists engage in unethical practices and often use misinformation and propaganda to disseminate stories. Millions of people who follow these stories prefer these views and reject traditional conservative news (except for one). This type of content can be racist, misogynistic, and anti-immigrant. (Wall 2019) We would never see people calling for justice for an unarmed teenager on this side of citizen journalism. 

    We live in a world where everyone has an opinion or feels if they have to report something. We have lived out eras of being first does not equal accurate information. Often news outlets take their time to post stories because they have to fact-check multiple times to be sure not to misinform the public. Viewers on the internet often have difficulty understanding what is real and what is not. Fact-checking is essential in the news because it must come directly from the scene or a reliable source. Today's digital era has given everyone a voice and a place to sport their opinions. It is not uncommon to see blogs posting similar stories as the news unfiltered to gain readers. Citizen journalism will continue gaining traction as viewers notice the difference between the stories posted by their favorite blogger and their favorite news outlet. News outlets have also found ways to help endorse and gain information from citizen journalists because they are always the first to report issues. Working with self-proclaimed journalists gives news outlets more time to gain information and put together quality segments for the news.

-Jaleesa

Diggin' This Information

References

Group, Sociology. n.d. Citizen Journalism: Meaning, History, Types, Pros and Cons.https://www.sociologygroup.com/citizen-journalism/.

Wall, Melissa. 2019. Citizen Journalism : Practices, Propaganda, Pedagogy. Taylor & Francis Group.