AS SEEN ON TV
Taming a new animal called Citizen Journalist
It used to be that TV news was a one way medium. Anchors barked the news (some of them still do) and the public consumed it. News media called the shots from content, context, coverage, and viewing times. All that the viewer needed to do was keep track of schedules, sit back and take it all in.
Today, viewers choose what they’d like to see. And they “tune out” if they think the story is irrelevant, or if (they feel) they know more than the reporter reporting it. They don’t care if they missed the news on TV or Radio anymore, or if they failed to buy today’s newspaper, because technology is on their side. The RSS feeds on their mobile are (rich) sources of news. And there’s the internet whose content is “customized” to suit preferences, viewable anytime, anywhere. News today (pun very intentional), is now accessible ON DEMAND!
Today’s viewers don’t just consume news. They also want to make news. And all it takes are a phone camera and a computer to blog and upload it for mass distribution. This mutated form of reportage we call CITIZEN JOURNALISM!
Citizen journalism evolved as people gained technology to access news. The public is now able to express reactions or even contribute fresh information via SMS, email, or websites (for this newspaper log on to www.newstoday.info and click the FORUM button to react). The influence of public information sharing is far-reaching. A similar phenomenon catapulted Wikipedia to success. Wikipedia uses people who share knowledge (on practically any topic, even the mundane) to build an online, free encyclopedia, which is now putting (real) encyclopedias out of business (despite Wikipedia’s high accuracy handicap).
But news organizations need not suffer the same fate. Networks find it unwise to compete with citizen journalists, since they know that network resources (no matter how immense) are no match to the reach and clout of the omnipresent public. News organizations instead see them as allies. CNN’s “I-Report” is a manifestation of news media’s subservience to the power of citizen journalists.
Citizen journalism and the migratory culture of today’s news consumers are pushing organizations like CNN, the BBC (and even this newspaper) to conquer the internet. News online editions actually help keep the connection with news consumers whose needs are ever-changing, and ensure the survival of traditional media stakeholders. But what happens to real journalists?
Where do they fit in this (not so) futuristic picture?
Are reporters being pushed to extinction?
Are citizen journalists taking over “the enterprise”?
Talk is cheap. A deluge of information from citizen journalists will (still) not mean anything unless these are put in proper context. And only a skillful reporter can give perspective where perspective is due.
Information obtained from citizens, need to be sifted, verified and woven into stories that touch lives. It is a real journalist’s job to put heart into information, a skill no technology can outdo. Journalism is a craft borne out of a lofty mission: Promote humanity and make the world better.
Citizens can contribute to a news story with the wealth of information they can produce in real time. But a journalist, the true (and rare) artist behind any masterful storytelling is still in demand, as of press time.