The Rise of Citizen Journalism

Traditional notions of journalism are changing. As citizens are becoming amateur journalists and photographers, editors are increasingly relying on citizen-written content. Then there’s the phenomenon of the internet, spawning bloggers, newswriters and photo-sites, all for free, and in the majority, created and run by volunteers. It all seems like good participatory fun, but surely there must be further consequences. What are the implications for professional journalists, the public and traditional outlets of the news?

The Blog has become a foremost method of the new wave of citizen journalism, launching - often by a kind of accident - ordinary individuals into the centre of major news events. One of the most compelling recent examples of this came during the Virginia shootings. Students from within the campus were able to relay events not just to their friends, but to the entire outside world, and all long before mainstream journalists could arrive on the scene.

Citizen journalism really finds it force in the flurry of websites that have sprung up in recent years, including sites like www.vocalpublic.co.uk and www.citizenxpress.com, which allow the public to write the news, providing an alternative to established professional websites such as BBC News.

Often such citizen journalism websites are founded by established journalists and are contributed to by a special kind of person: not only do these unpaid writers have the kind of dedication to write for free, they also demonstrate a general mistrust in the mainstream media and feel the need to make a statement by producing it themselves. For them, it’s not about the money, it’s about a sense of citizenship and community.

And community it certainly is – for those criticising citizen journalism for being low in professional standards and ethics are met by the throng of citizen journalists all fact checking and editing each other’s work – sometimes far more visibly than the printed stuff – for the majority of citizen journalism websites, its content reflects the best of its community, not the worst.

But rather than being a surprising phenomenon, perhaps citizen journalism is just the natural progression of both the growing force of the internet and the changing nature of journalism. The media landscape of today is immensely different from the landscape of 10 years ago.

The internet has opened up the media industry for all. Which can only be a good thing, right? A ‘voice for all’ seems like the ideal vision of a global village all working together: a democracy. Those traditionally excluded from the journalism industry can finally get themselves an (albeit small) voice. Well – not quite. What about those without internet access/computers? When it is said that a ‘voice for everyone’ is offered, what is really meant is a “voice for everyone in the West” - or perhaps, as blogging is also popular in Asia, a voice for everyone of privilege (it is worth noting however, that in China, blogging is not as free as in the West and often faces censure).

So should professional journalists be worried? Their turf is being invaded, after all, and as more and more people get their news from the internet, editors may see greater advantage in citizen journalism. But will this lead to a decline in professional journalism? Surely the professional and citizen can both find a place in the ample media industry?

To see it from a completely different viewpoint, a citizen journalist may even be better at producing certain stories. When you think about it, the “public” as it were, contains more experts and enthusiasts than can be found within the journalism industry. These people can provide insider perspective to a story, in their own words, without having to be mediated by an editorial board or the economic concerns of a publisher. And then there’s free speech. We’re supposed to live in an era of free press, but only the blogger and citizen journalist, writing without fear of losing their job or upsetting their boss, advertisers or anyone else for that matter can truly experience freedom of speech. This may seem positive, but there are further reaching implications, for this freedom, for all the advantages, blogging can easily pave the way for rumours, lies and speculation. A blogger making an analysis based on little or no thought can hardly expect to have the same reasoned and well thought-out commentary that the professional can afford to give it. So although the blog removes the traditional boundaries of journalism, it could be argued that these boundaries are needed (or at least partly needed) in order for trustworthy journalism to exist. For the career-minded, citizen journalism may even be a way to crack into the industry, providing much needed writing experience.

Perhaps the greatest (or at least most visible) facet of citizen journalism is the rise of citizen photography. With the advent of camera phones, breaking news can be captured without the need of professionals on the scene. Indeed, the most poignant photos from scenes such as the 7/7 bombings in London came from such sources. Of all the iconic images of the tragedy, one that sticks in our collective minds is the image from the underground tunnel captured by one of the passengers. Ten, perhaps even five years ago, this kind of journalism simply wasn’t possible. It has become so popular that in 2006, mobile phone company Nokia sponsored the first Citizen Journalism awards, judging photographs shot by the public. Intriguingly, however, there appears to be no awards scheduled for 2007.

Photography of this kind doesn’t necessarily always have to have its serious applications, it has its trivial side as well. Dubbed as the ‘snaparazzi’, celebrities now have a new enemy (or potential best friend depending on how you look at it) to be wary of: the citizen armed with an everyday camera phone. Regularly a feature of UK celebrity rag Heat magazine, snaps caught on a camera phone, probably captured without the victims knowledge (or consent to use) can land the snapper a tidy sum.

And so what conclusions can be drawn from all this? Is citizen journalism an unstoppable force about to destroy the established journalism industry? For the moment, it hardly seems so. Journalists should take heed from the new competition, whilst consumers should enjoy the unprecedented choice and freedom. In this new media landscape, perhaps there’s room enough for both the professional and the amateur.