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Gillmor explores how the explosion of grassroots internet journalists (bloggers) has changed the way news is handled.
One of the main points in the book is that large media corporations cannot control the news we get any longer, now news is being published in real-time, available to everybody, via the Internet.
Gillmor sees the internet as a catalyst
to challenge institutions .
He states that ordinary citizens use
blogs and other online communication tools to share our own news, which he
calls ‘citizen journalism’
Gillmor calls bloggers ‘the former
audience’ and writes about news blogs as new form of people’s journalism.
Citizen Journalism: Discussing the
Growing Movement
Citizen journalism is an activity that is becoming
increasingly popular in modern society. It is a broad term used to describe the
phenomenon of average citizens taking on the roles of amateur journalists, in
order to provide alternative sources of information, outside of more
traditional news and media sources.
Although citizen journalism has been in existence for
decades, in various forms, the movement is currently experiencing a marked rise
in popularity. The reasons for this increased exposure are multiple and varied,
but can be mainly attributed to the seemingly limitless access to information
from across the globe, via the internet, and the easy accessibility to internet
activities such as blogging and posting videos on YouTube. There are a number
of important discussion points that need to be addressed when considering the
advantages and disadvantages of citizen journalism, including the question of
why it exists, the many forms that it takes, the question of objectivity, and
the degree of influence that it can have. These points will be discussed in
more detail below.
Why is Citizen News Important? Why
and How Does It Exist?
Citizen news is an extremely broad term, encompassing
countless types of information and methods of delivery. The general idea behind
the phenomenon is the basic desire to receive and transmit information. Citizen
journalists may be motivated to share information for any number of diverse
reasons: They may be activists; attention-seekers; they may be privy to
important information not being addressed by more traditional media sources;
they may wish to express an opinion. Some amateur writers may wish to provide
unbiased perspectives on situations in which they feel the traditional media is
presenting only one side, while others may devote their energies to fact
checking and/or analyzing existing news pieces.
Popular Forms of
Citizen Journalism
As described above, the idea of a democratic form of
journalism, where every individual is entitled to a voice, and to having that
voice heard through various forms of media, may manifest itself in many ways.
In today’s plugged in society, propagating information has never been easier,
with tools such as web logs (blogs), chat rooms and message boards, and the
ability to publish home videos of every sort on YouTube and similar sites. One
characteristic that all of these citizen journalism sites have in common
however, is the possibility for audience participation. Discussing an issue in
one of these public domain sites invites the opportunity to publicize
criticisms and comments, and to engage in a continuous dialogue.
The Question of Objectivity
The biggest challenge, with citizen journalism, is being
able to identify information that is put forth in an objective and unbiased
way, as opposed to information that is used to advance a particular cause or
idea. Determining the reliability of sources becomes a challenge.
Look at these Citizen Journalism statements..........
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Monday 8 July 2013
People power: 'We are the media' Dan Gillmor's Citizen Journalism
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