LECTURE 10

Citizen Journalism & New

Media
Course: Introduction to New Media
Course code: NM401
Course Instructor: Khansa Tarar
Khansa Tarar

5/19/15

Citizen Journalism
New Media theorists such as Dan Gillmor, Henry Jenkins,
Jay Rosen and Jeff Howe have recently touted Citizen
Journalism (CJ) as the latest innovation in 21st
century journalism.
Participatory journalism and user-driven
journalism are other terms to describe CJ, which its
proponents argue is a disruptive innovation (Christensen)
to the agenda-setting media institutions, news values and
objective reportage
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Public, Guerrilla, Street, democratic Journalism

Who does CJ
Who is the citizen in CJ?
What is their self-awareness as a political agent?
CJ proponents who use the self-image of citizen draw on
observations from the participatory vision of open source
software, peer-to-peer networks, and self conducted
research (Trippi).

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CJ as New Media Populism

Populismis a political doctrine that appeals to the
interests and conceptions (such as hopes and fears) of the
general people, especially contrasting those interests with
the interests of the elite.

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Parallels: Event-driven & Civic

Journalism
For new media programs, CJ builds on two earlier traditions:
the Event-driven journalism of crises like the 1991 Gulf
War (Wark) and the Civic Journalism school that emerged in
the 1960s social upheavals.
Civic Journalisms awareness of minorities and social
issues provides the character ethic and political philosophy
for many Citizen Journalists.
Jay Rosen and others suggest that CJ is the next-generation
heir to Civic Journalism,
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Pro-Ams & Professional

Journalisms Crisis
CJ emerged during a period when Professional Journalism
faced a major crisis of self-image.
The Demos reportThe Pro-Am Revolution(Leadbeater &
Miller) popularised the notion of professional amateurs which
some CJ theorists adopt to strengthen their categorisation.
In turn, this triggers a response from cultural theorists who fear
bloggers are new medias barbarians (Keen)
New Breed of Demi-Experts: collapsing the distinction
between an expert and a tinkerer.
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Pro-Am Revolution
Cheaper technology offers amateurs increasingly powerful
tools;
The Internet allows them to collaborate globally and train
themselves more rapidly.
The upshot is that amateurs are increasingly holding themselves
to professional standards and producing significant innovations
and discoveries.
For Example: The Linux computer system was created by geeks
working without pay in their spare time, Jay Mcneil Discovery
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Definition
Participatory/ Citizen Journalism is:
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. The intent of this
participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate,
wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy
requires.
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As Alternative Media
Radical challenge to the professionalized and institutionalized
practices of the mainstream media
Citizen Journalismhas put democracy back in people's hands.
An army of individuals with mobile phones, portable cameras, and
blogs is rapidly replacing traditional media as a reliable and wideranging source of information.
A threat to Value Based, Objective and Agenda-Setter Main-Stream
Media

Khansa Tarar

5/19/15

Alternative to Mainstream
Media
Unfortunately, popular beliefhas it that news coming
from official, mainstream channels is superior in quality
and reliability than news reported by a blogger or
someone with a shaky camcorder.
Traditional media keep being preached as the source of
truth, but what they lack is exactly the essence of truth:
validation.
How do you establish what is true from what is false?
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Traditional vs. Participatory

The most obvious differencebetween participatory journalism and
traditional journalism is the different structure and organization that
produce them.
Traditional mediaare created by hierarchical organizations that
are built for commerce. Their business models are broadcast and
advertising focused. They value rigorous editorial workflow,
profitability and integrity.
Participatory journalismis created by networked communities
that value conversation, collaboration and egalitarianism over
profitability.
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Their Point
Mainstream media have a one-way dialogue with their
audience: there's no way to check back what was told or
written.
Participatory journalism, on the contrary, finds its very strength
in the continuous, ongoing validation process operated by
a large community.
You can easily share your opinion, agree / disagree with what is
being said by taking advantage of new technologies and the
web. This is why it is also called Participatory Journalism.
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Traditional Media

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Alternative Media

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Journalism At a Crossroads
According to the authors, each time there has been a period of
significant, social, economic and technological change, a
transformation in news occurred.
This happened in the 1830s-40s with the advent of the telegraph; the
1880s with a drop in paper prices and a wave of immigration; the
1920s with radio and the rise of gossip and celebrity culture; the
1950s at the onset of the Cold War and television.
The arrival of cable, followed by the Internet and mobile
technologies, has brought the latest upheaval in news. And this time,
the change in news may be even more dramatic.
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 Kovach and Rosenstiel Explain,

"For the first time in our history, the news increasingly is produced by
companies outside journalism, and this new economic organization is
important. We are facing the possibility that independent news will be
replaced by self-interested commercialism posing as news.

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We-Media
Principles that define the current "we media" movement:
My readers know more than I do.
That is not a threat, but rather an opportunity.
We can use this together to create something between a
seminar and a conversation, educating all of us.

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We-Media
Interactivity and communications technology- in the
form of email, weblogs, discussion boards, websites and
more - make it happen.
Personalization Vs. Perspectives
Do-it-yourself-journalism

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Examples

9/11
Iraq War
Columbia Shuttle Incident-eyewitness accounts and photographs
ABCNews.com,The Notecovers 2004 political candidates and
gave each individual weblog to comment back on what was
reported
BBC strategy to publish best ones on its site

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 This raises some important questions:

If participatory journalism has risenwithout the direct help
of trained journalists or news industry initiatives, what role will
mainstream media play?
And are mainstream media willing to relinquishsome
control and actively collaborate with their audiences?
Or will an informed and empowered consumerbegin to
frame the news agenda from the grassroots?
And, will journalism's values endure?
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