According to Shayne Bowman and Chris Willis (2003), citizen journalism refers to “the act of a citizen, or group of citizens, playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information.”
In recent years, citizen journalism has certainly blossomed. There are now hundreds of participatory news sites such as Indymedia, OhmyNews, Slashdot and Kuro5hin that receive considerable traffic. Though there is concern that citizen journalism produces inferior and inaccurate content, Bowman and Willis (2003) argue that “the intent of this participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires.”
One of the most positive elements of citizen journalism, as Axel Bruns mentioned in his Week 10 podcast, is the encouragement of public discussion. Comments, corrections, opinions and additional information are emphatically welcomed in the citizen journalism arena. As a participatory media platform, it gives all citizens a voice and strongly supports collaboration.
In this sense, I believe citizen journalism is an important force in combating bias in the traditional news media. It is no secret that bias exists in many of our trusted news sources, sometimes it borders on shameless. A study conducted by UCLA political scientists revealed that “almost all major [US] media outlets tilt to the left.” (Sullivan, 2005) Citizen journalism allows us to question the content of these media outlets and contribute to public discussion about important issues. If we happen to swing to the right, we are able to publish content that reflects this, and present the world with a different view.
It is this collaboration from citizens with all varieties of social and political opinions that help to create a balanced news environment which is, as Bowman and Willis say, essential for democracy.
Another reason I believe citizen journalism is so important is that it combats the culture of apathy threatening to conquer many of us. By encouraging us to speak our minds, contribute to something worthwhile and share our insights, citizen journalism encourages us to care. We are empowered to publish content that is not bound by rules and regulations and the possibilities we are presented with are limitless so...why wouldn’t we? Citizen journalism works on the assumption that everybody’s contribution is important and worthwhile, whether this is true or not, we are motivated to reflect not only on our own viewpoints and those of traditional media sources, but the lesser considered perspectives of our peers. We are given new insight into issues and therefore encouraged to keep questioning them.
This is perhaps the MOST important element that citizen journalism brings to the table. It pushes us to keep thinking, keep questioning, keep sharing and stops us from becoming complacent and indifferent. Through citizen journalism we are empowered to make a difference whether small or large and this is certainly a gift that should be put to good use.
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Sullivan, M. 2005. Media Bias is Real, Finds UCLA Political Scientist http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/Media-Bias-Is-Real-Finds-UCLA-6664.aspx?RelNum=6664 (accessed May 13, 2008)
Bowman, S. and C. Willis. 2003. We Media – How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information http://www.hypergene.net/wemedia/download/we_media.pdf (accessed May 13, 2008)
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