EOTO project: Citizen Journalism

    Citizen Journalism can be defined as “the collecting and reporting of information via social media, public platforms, and traditional news outlets, either by non-traditional sources or the public.”. This basically means that the citizens of society are playing a role, like a reporter, to get information out to the rest of the public on something that is happening firsthand to them. This kind of information tends to come directly from the source (the citizen), also known as a primary source. More recently the term has become looser and citizen journalism can expand all the way to just interacting on social media or websites. There is no clear definition to what citizen journalism consists of, but as a society we can create boundaries to reach for a definition.

  A great example of citizen journalism would be a citizen at a protest, taking a video or picture on their phone, then proceeding to post those videos or photos on some social media platforms, sent in group chats, or even put onto a website or blog. The citizen in this scenario is acting as a reporting and getting information on an event firsthand. The citizen is giving other citizens documentation of an event from a primary source. With documentation like videos or photos of what is happening presently, we are able to evoke emotions and then encourage change, if change is the desired outcome of the event taking place or change is needed to reach a solution. A reporter takes on the role of “keeping the public updated about current events and noteworthy information.”. As citizen journalism continues to evolve, citizens are taking on this role to keep their fellow citizens up to date on what is happening and reach towards those changes they so deeply desire.  

    As society continues to set boundaries in order to officially define what citizen journalism consists of, we focus on 3 general areas. The areas include, generally being associated with the internet, it is seen as a movement that challenges mainstream corporate media, and the uncertainty of whether citizens should carry the role of a report, a content creator, neither, or both. The first desired boundary states that majority of citizen journalism is associated with the internet whether that be posting directly onto social media and websites, or eyewitness footage being presented onto the broadcast news. Secondly, we question the challenges being brought to mainstream media through the expansion of citizen journalism. Citizen journalism is taking ideas from the traditions of mainstream media and adding uniqueness that essentially catches the attention of the public. The uniqueness in this case consists of eyewitness accounts and opinions brought to citizens by citizens. Thirdly, as a society we must decide the overall role of the citizen when they take a part in citizen journalism. Should citizens play the role of a reporter if the opportunity is presented to them? Should citizens stick to being content creators if they have an interest in news and change? Should citizens not get involved at all? Should citizens be the most involved they can be? These are the main questions we must ask ourselves if we desire the definition of what citizen journalism consists of. Currently, citizens are taking the role of both reporters and content creators. As this trend continues the popularity of citizen journalism will continue to increase. The public likes to feel involved in what is presently happening. The involvement that the public receives allows them to receive and heighten emotion in order to become confident in their opinions of exactly what is going on. 

 

    Although citizen journalism has a definition that can be found online, there truly are no restrictions on what this style of journalism really is. The looseness of this term brings the overall positive of popularity and future expansion. Society may push for boundaries to create a definition, but individual citizens will essentially choose what is important to their beliefs and how they think news should be sent out and received.