Citizen Journalism
The birth of social media has aided exponentially of new forms of media, communication, and journalism, as we see especially with the development of Citizen Journalism. Citizen Journalism is the act of average, everyday people sharing news affairs through the use of the internet and social media on an individual level.
Considering that majority of populations of developed countries own or have access to smartphones nowadays, we witness citizen journalism every day.
Citizen Journalism Reforming News Coverage?
With constant access to share content on a range of platforms, it is extremely easy for anyone to share information instantaneously. While citizen journalism allows for information to be produced and spread much faster than traditional media, some citizens may not have research skills to the same extent as professional reporters.
This type of journalism is quicker and allows for wider views and aspects, but can be significantly less reliable; anyone can spread misleading information easily with the help of the internet. With the “Fake News” phenomena being brought to light over the past couple of years, it’s natural that most people are to be sceptical of journalism in general, let alone citizen journalism. Despite misleading information, highly valuable input is often acknowledged and used by reporters and journalists as a product of citizen journalism.
“Journalism’s relationship with social media continues to get more complex.”
Cision, “Cision’s Global State of the Media report 2019”.
Considering major advantages and disadvantages with relying on citizen reported information, this statement from Cision’s 2019 report rings true.
Bibliography
Cision. “Cision’s Global State of the Media report 2019” May 7, 2019. Accessed August 16, 2019. https://www.cision.com/us/resources/white-papers/2019-sotm/
Iribarren, Leopoldine. “The Impact of ‘citizen journalism’ on the public sphere”. February 3. A Medium Corporation. Accessed August 16, 2019. https://medium.com/@LeopoldineIL/the-impact-of-citizen-journalism-on-the-public-sphere-c1a5586cdac9
Rogers, Tony. “Understanding Citizen Journalism”. May 25, 2019. Thought Co. Accessed August 16, 2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-citizen-journalism-2073663
Webwise. “Explained: What is Fake News?”. webwise.ie. Accessed August 16, 2019. https://www.webwise.ie/teachers/what-is-fake-news/
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