Oct 27 2010
Are you a citizen journalist? That is a negative ghost rider!
The definition of a journalist is much like the definition of interactivity; there are many different ways to classify it but in the end which one really matters. It seems that citizen journalism takes on personal meaning for many of my classmates and it seems the future of journalism is clear but is it what we want? I am all about being able to produce your own content but in many cases, people walk a blurred line. My questions this week were very broad but they are questions that I have and still don’t completely know the answer too.
1. Has the concept of news agenda setting changed with the development of citizen journalism? Does interactivity play a role in what is produced?
As far as agenda setting, I think citizen journalism has played a factor in what “the news agenda” is and what people see. However, it is a much broader spectrum of news stories. Nonetheless, there are still the stories that take precedent because of its nature and how it will help/hurt the country. Citizen journalists provide more opinions and response to news stories as well. The professional level for many of the citizen journalists is not on the same level as a research journalist because the credibility and reliability for many comes from an unbiased opinion and the voice of many citizen journalists is swayed.
2. The article states “citizen journalism is seen to present a challenge to mainstream corporate media, it is tempting to conceive as of a “movement” with intrinsically oppositional characteristics,” is the motivation behind citizen journalism an intrinsic need or an extrinsic product of society?
I think the intrinsic motivation is a result of extrinsic motivation from society. We live in an age of living free with the ability to produce information on the internet and the will to seek out information on our own. Many people want the freewill to form an opinion for themselves without watching the news that many feel is censored. Yes, we all have the right to all of the above freedoms but do not abuse them. It seems websites like digg.com allow for the use of free voice but that is not always a good thing with this site. Basically, people are motivated from their own internal purposes but what I am saying is those purposes and needs have been formed by an external factor: society!
3. Has the idea and revelation of interactive media contributed to the citizen journalism phenomenon because of the active engagement the audience has with news mediums
I think it all depends on how interactivity is defined yet again. In the case of citizen journalism, is interactivity a product or a process? The use of interactivity on the web has contributed to citizen journalism because they are creating and producing the news, sports, entertainment, etc in a way that is gathering large user audiences. Interactivity as a process also is very important because it effects politics and the bigger process. User engagement is always important which makes me think it has contributed to citizen journalism? In the end, I am a journalist, I want professional credibility so digg.com, I have an opinion but you will not see me post it on your site.