This is a paper I wrote for my History of American Journalism class that used something from the past to relate to a piece of news that is relevant today.
Can citizen journalism be taken as seriously as
professional journalism? With the increase in technology and social media,
citizen journalism is ever growing and news can be accessed at a greater speed,
from a whole range of perspectives.
People who have been considered part of the
audience can now join the world of journalism. Anyone in the world is now able
to publicly publish their thoughts and accounts of anything they like. Journalism
is no longer limited. The popular social network, "Twitter", sees thousands of
stories posted regularly and once enough people are talking about the same
thing, it becomes "trending" and the subject is automatically seen by everyone
using the site. But the use of the internet was not the first sign of citizen
journalism.
As far back as 1690 when the first newspaper in
the colonies was published in the Colonial era, it included a blank page to
allow readers to write their own news and then pass it on for others to read.
This newspaper, known as ‘Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestick’,
published by Benjamin Harris was one of the earliest signs of citizen
journalism, and although it was not a huge success it shows the public’s opinion
and accounts have mattered previously. The major difference now is that media
has enabled the spread of such journalism. You no longer have to work for a
newspaper or magazine for your work to be read by millions.
Many people may believe that their writing would
not matter or make a difference, but there are various citizen journalists
who have written about major events and had a huge impact on not only improving
the immediacy of the information being released to the world but also giving a
completely different view on the event.
In crime stories, police and news stations have
relied on citizens’ material to keep up-to-date with current situations. In
April 2013, during the chase for the suspects of the Boston Marathon bombings,
video clips, pictures, tweets and blogs taken or published by residents in the
area were used to retrieve recent information on the case. Similarly in
England, during the August 2011 riots, suspects were caught with the help of
images posted by citizens. Videos of rioters fighting with police were posted
online.
Citizen journalism has moved a long way from being
someone’s scribble in the back of a newspaper that only lasted one issue. It
can achieve success. Of course, with citizen journalism applying to all
citizens, not all opinions and accounts are as useful or reliable and
there may be offensive material. The internet is known for its vast material,
not all of which should be taken seriously or even acknowledged, but citizen journalism has been proven worthy.
It can also take the shape of storytelling. People
can tell their own stories for the world to read. At the age of 10, Sam
Wessells won an award for his CNN report on autism. He helped spread awareness
for autism by not only telling his own story but how it can affect others in
even worse ways.
Citizen journalism may not be professional but it
can certainly be inspirational and worthy.
