Week 6, What is Citizen Journalism?

According to Professor Jay Rosen of New York University, citizen journalism is conducted when “The people, formally known as the audience, employ the press tools in their possession to inform one another.” I believe this statement is true to a certain extent. Today we are living in a highly digitized global village where like McLuhan predicted “time has ceased and space does not exist”. Technologies such as smart phones and mediums such as blogs and twitter exasperate thoughts and knowledge of social, political, cultural and economic trends. Thanks to this media the citizen or audience has become a producer of user generated content and stories. Marginalized citizens, minority groups or anyone really can simply point and shoot content which acts as a democratic agent much alike the best form of news. Citizen journalism bridges the gaps in time and space by having someone there on hand who is ready and able to obtain content and potentially tell the story. A prime example is the Boston bombings of 2013, a combination of user generated content and social media helped the leading  news organizations cover an unexpected and breaking story.

   

On the other hand citizen can bring out the worst in journalism to a certain extent. User generated stories are not subject to the best practices of journalism. UGS can contain bias which goes against the notion of fair and balanced reporting. In addition the speed and ease embedded within the process means that most of the information has not been fact checked. Bulkley says it’s hard to judge amateur content online against a “considered documentary broadcasted on traditional television channel” Citizen content being passed onto a journalist with an appropriate fee reached would serve journalistic standards. From here professional practices of journalism can be applied to the content to create a story. Indeed, UGS are highly liberating but there is never an enforced set of guidelines to make the citizen aware of the stories they produce and their implications. This both points to potential legal issues for the citizen UGS but on the other hand their creativity has not been stifled.

 

 

 

References:

Bulkley, Kate 2012 ‘ The rise of citizen journalism’, Available At: https://d2l.deakin.edu.au/d2l/le/content/209569/viewContent/2333749/View , Accessed 28/8/14 

The Hot and Coll Interview in: McLuhan, M. Media Research: Technology, Art and Communication, Available at: http://encore.deakin.edu.au/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2971220) pp 89, Accessed 22/8/2014

Rosen, Jay ‘Definition of Citizen Journalism’, Available at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcYSmRZuep4.

 

Week 5: What role do you envisage for UGS in a media eco sphere predominantly fuelled by social media?

The rise of Social Media and UGS has given power to citizens to capture content and tell stories as they unfold. The key underlining aspect of Social Media is its ability to deliver information quickly, hence removing the borders of ‘time and space’ as described by McLuhan in the digital age[1].

With this in mind UGS are beneficial to an extent. Take the devastating Japan 2011 earthquake for example. There were no warning signs for reporters to simply be there covering the disaster. In addition access to the site was dangerous and restricted as immediate health and wellbeing and aid work was given prevalence. Today looking at firsthand accounts of the devastation we are subject to user generated content in documentaries that has been taken from citizens phones to portray a complete and objective view of the disaster.

On the other hand Social Media can misinterpret, deceive and potentially be harmful. The medium which bears no borders, speed and ease of access can also serve journalism to a low quality. The case of Murdered Melbourne woman Jill Meagher and killer Adrian Bailey made its way onto the social media platforms. Face book pages inciting hatred towards Bailey at the time he was charged with murder ultimately delayed the course of justice because the pages and comments impacted his right to a fair trial.

UGC while timely and easy to develop its not subject to the professional realms of journalistic practise, that is its not fact checked and can potentially be defamatory and subject to copyright infringement. However when a measured approach is taken to UGC and social media it can be beneficial according to Shaw[2]; “First there are places like Syria where journalists haven’t been able to go and second there is an extraordinary resource on social networks for current affairs, even though we have to take extraordinary caution to verify what we use.” Today citizens are creating more content and journalism is adopting it; however its quality and validity needs to be reinforced by journalists to reflect the best of journalism like its print/linear form.    

 

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[1] The Hot and Coll Interview in: McLuhan, M. Media Research: Technology, Art and Communication, Available at: http://encore.deakin.edu.au/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2971220) pp 89

[2] Shaw, Chris 2012 in Bulkley, Kate ‘The rise of citizen journalism’ http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/jun/11/rise-of-citizen-journalism

What’s happening to the old models of journalism?

Print journalism as we know it today will cease to exist in its current form in the future. The current model sees too much revenue going towards the creation of linear (print) content. “Seventy cents in each dollar of American newspapers operating expenses will be spent on paper, printing, distribution and corporate functions” with the other thirty percent being spent on content and advertising (Quinn 2009:70). These operating costs of the linear model compounded by the proliferation of information technology means print journalism is not a sustainable model for companies to maintain.

Furthermore online content can be accessed and delivered wirelessly to audiences. Today audiences want stories as they are breaking, not at the conventional 5pm television slot. This means journalists have to learn and adapt to convergence technologies such as phones and incorporate them in their everyday practice. Structurally “the industry has to start grooming individuals with a flexible mindset who understand change management” (Quinn 2009:72). Audiences want to choose what they consume and when and where they do it. “The internet allows people to seek information from thousands of blogs, aggregators, and social networks and to migrate to those that share the same point of view” (Quinn 2009:71)

As the world purchases more smart phones and morphs into a network society, the use of social media, blogs and the internet will all become the ideal platform for the delivery of news content. Less revenue will be spent on producing linear content, and more (with the gradual introduction of pay walls and/or advertising amongst other suggestions) on a sustainable structure of news which is readily consumable, interactive and becoming increasingly warming to readers.

 

 

References:

Quinn, Stephen 2009, The future of journalism, Quadrant, vol. 53, no. 9, pp. 70-77.

How are the various ideals of journalism impacted by the business of journalism?

Journalism in its best form strives to inform wholly and objectively and serves our democratic ideals entrenched in the west. Today, citizens want access to various news sources that strives to these ideals and increases debate. However journalism as a business conflicts its democratic aspirations. The commercial aspects of media such as advertising and pay walls are emerging and integrating with online content. The commercialization of online news can potentially set the template within a particular market for what is published. Some papers commercial motives act as a form of gatekeeping where one side of the debate is highlighted and given more relevance compared to another.

A prime example comes in the form of the 2013 federal election where the Daily Telegraph published pro Liberal propaganda throughout the campaign. According to Sheehan the purpose was to safe guard News Corps Foxtel cable TV service as the Labour Party proposed a new fibre optic internet service called the National Broadband Network[1]. It was believed that NBN would deliver video content quickly and could potentially damage the subscription services sales. The conflict impacted a balanced view of the political news and potentially shaped voters and their political ideals.  

If newspapers get big enough to succeed will they be too big to be genuinely democratic? (Phillips 2012: 3)[2] Journalism plays a major role in shaping our democratic beliefs. If journalism is to continue to serve us adequately then the revenue raised should serve journalism first and foremost so that depth and objectiveness in coverage is maintained.

References:

 [1]Sheehan, Paul ‘Murdoch’s vicious attacks on Rudd: it’s business’ http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/murdochs-vicious-attacks-on-rudd-its-business-20130803-2r65x.html accessed 31/7/14

[2]Phillips, Angela 2012 ‘The Future of Journalism’ https://d2l.deakin.edu.au/d2l/le/content/209569/viewContent/2315367/View accessed 31/7/14

photo credit: http://theaimn.com/an-open-letter-to-rupert-murdoch/ 

Week 2: How does convergence impact journalism?

Today we are immersed in the world of User Generated content. Different online sites such as Facebook, Word press and YouTube show an array of UGC in the form of text, video and image. The sites appeal to the user on the level of empowerment and have low boundaries of access and ease to use. This trend of the virtual world is becoming the way of journalism. We have been moving towards a world today where “time has ceased and space has vanished” (McLuhan, 1967: 63)

The way journalists conduct their practice is changing. Consumers now expect an immediate response and more story elements to supplement their reading experience. According to Henry Jenkins this adaption is forcing journalists to learn new skills. Convergence signals structural change where organizations only employ journalists who can adapt to changing technology. Journalists should be able to package different multimedia, the packaging highlights news gathering convergence where once we had a camera man, a writer and photographer working on different aspects of the story.

Today the journalist is expected to use the technology and collect the stories themselves. The result questions structurally the need for certain workers within an organisation when technology such as a smart phone encompasses most of it. Those who cannot adapt are left behind and become unemployable. Finally, our need for rapid news to an extent comes at the expense of a holistic view. Anyone can create UCG but what’s circulated as news can be false and not properly checked in the formal manner news does for print (usually). This is not particularly the fault of the journalist but potentially the technology and the mediums inviting us to post for immediacy.    

 

 References:

Henry Jenkins – What Is Convergence? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFbJCdCoNIc , accessed 25/7/2014

McLuhan, Marshall & Fiore, Quentin (1967) The Medium is the Massage, New York: Bantam Books.

Week 1: How common or widespread is the use of multimedia journalism in the media?

Multimedia journalism is as common and widespread as it has ever been and I believe its proliferation will continue to grow. Accepting the news in its linear format is informative but lacks the ability to appeal too many who prefer to have the visual and interactive supplementation that can potentially enhance their news experience. Whenever I look up The Age online there is a vast array of stories with video links embedded and pictures which give greater meaning than the text alone.

In addition, on the AFL website I have noticed a growing trend of more talk and debate shows, some of which go hand in hand with the written content on the website. I believe multimedia journalism is more appealing to the senses and those of us who want to interact with the news. Moreover to those of us who cannot fully grasp the text or are in need of overview or background information to encompass the full story.

Finally, multimedia journalism has become so global that it has given power to citizens to create their own content and become news sources. Most of western civilisation has a mobile phone, the key tool of this convergence society and are capable of making content just about anywhere and anytime. I have felt this effect, through the use of a smart phone I am able to take photos at the footy, write a detailed caption and post it on Twitter with the appropriate hash tags. Through sharing the news and my views I am giving another perspective to the story.