The topic of Citizen Journalism has been rather popular nowadays when talking about the journalism industry. Elisa and Joyce made a decent attempt at presenting this topic in class, especially their meticulously detailed report on the differences between the writing styles of mainstream media and alternative (online) media. They pointed out that the most obvious difference in style is the informal tone used when writing for an online media.
While this may be true, I think there is a need for them to further refine this proclamation. Alternative media can be split into two aspects - the online editions of traditional prints and Citizen Journalism. Online editions of traditional prints would obviously require a professional style of writing, so informal tones are discouraged by the editors. Citizen Journalism on the other hand has no rules and restrictions on writing styles, so writers are free to choose how they want to phrase their sentences.
But that is not what's really important on this topic of Citizen Journalism. Based on the presentation by Elisa and Joyce, I think a lot of people are confused on the true meaning and definition of Citizen Journalism and this confusion and ignorance needs to be addressed. Elisa believes that ANYTHING posted online is considered as journalism, even a person who does a daily blog update about what they ate for breakfast. Journalism in the traditional sense means the reporting and dissemination of news that is for the public's interest, so there is a sense of professionalism and journalistic integrity to be had while reporting news. So while yes, Citizen Journalism lets everyday people write up their thoughts and opinions, it NEEDS to be of journalistic value. Who cares about what some random stranger ate for breakfast?
This flippant understanding of what online and Citizen Journalism is leads to the questioning on the credibility of news found online. Everyone is free to post something online and there is no gatekeeper or filter to ensure the quality of content. This is one worrying aspect of online journalism and will still be scrutinized for time to come; not until there is a measure and degree of professionalism from all writers who plans to report on news online.
While this may be true, I think there is a need for them to further refine this proclamation. Alternative media can be split into two aspects - the online editions of traditional prints and Citizen Journalism. Online editions of traditional prints would obviously require a professional style of writing, so informal tones are discouraged by the editors. Citizen Journalism on the other hand has no rules and restrictions on writing styles, so writers are free to choose how they want to phrase their sentences.
But that is not what's really important on this topic of Citizen Journalism. Based on the presentation by Elisa and Joyce, I think a lot of people are confused on the true meaning and definition of Citizen Journalism and this confusion and ignorance needs to be addressed. Elisa believes that ANYTHING posted online is considered as journalism, even a person who does a daily blog update about what they ate for breakfast. Journalism in the traditional sense means the reporting and dissemination of news that is for the public's interest, so there is a sense of professionalism and journalistic integrity to be had while reporting news. So while yes, Citizen Journalism lets everyday people write up their thoughts and opinions, it NEEDS to be of journalistic value. Who cares about what some random stranger ate for breakfast?
This flippant understanding of what online and Citizen Journalism is leads to the questioning on the credibility of news found online. Everyone is free to post something online and there is no gatekeeper or filter to ensure the quality of content. This is one worrying aspect of online journalism and will still be scrutinized for time to come; not until there is a measure and degree of professionalism from all writers who plans to report on news online.
