The advent of citizen journalism has posed many questions for journalists and citizens alike. From blogging to Twitter and the use of modern day technology such as camera phones and portable video recorders, your Average Joe, anywhere, anytime, can be responsible for the dissemination of information, images and footage. Citizens all over the world are now playing the role of communicator to the masses, a job formally and solely carried out by our professionally trained media practitioners.
Where do we draw the line? We live in a time of technological dependency and have become accustomed to receiving information at a rapid rate, the faster the better. You could say that we crave it. We want to be the first to know, but are we losing the ability to determine fact from opinion when new information is exported so frequently from anyone regardless of professional qualifications?
Just one example of citizen journalism was seen when tweets were made about the London Earthquake before any news company had reported it themselves. On this occasion it was evident that the event had actually occurred, no one could deny that nor the importance of the world being aware of the disaster as soon as possible. But can we really label the thousands of blogs posted each day without any formal editing process, covering Britney's Spears latest underwear exposure and the like as a subset of the journalist?
It is more important than ever for professional journalists to maintain credibility and accuracy in their reporting, whether it be online, print or broadcast, to ensure that the death of the journalist as a result of the spread of 'citizen journalism' is not imminent.
Where do we draw the line? We live in a time of technological dependency and have become accustomed to receiving information at a rapid rate, the faster the better. You could say that we crave it. We want to be the first to know, but are we losing the ability to determine fact from opinion when new information is exported so frequently from anyone regardless of professional qualifications?
Just one example of citizen journalism was seen when tweets were made about the London Earthquake before any news company had reported it themselves. On this occasion it was evident that the event had actually occurred, no one could deny that nor the importance of the world being aware of the disaster as soon as possible. But can we really label the thousands of blogs posted each day without any formal editing process, covering Britney's Spears latest underwear exposure and the like as a subset of the journalist?
It is more important than ever for professional journalists to maintain credibility and accuracy in their reporting, whether it be online, print or broadcast, to ensure that the death of the journalist as a result of the spread of 'citizen journalism' is not imminent.
Hannah I have to say that I agree with you. I fail to comprehend how a person could have journalist associated with their title when all they do is take explicit pictures of moronic celebrities!
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