Features of Citizen Journalism

It’s true that the umbrella of what is called “Citizen Journalism” covers a lot that isn’t journalism. But is a picture taken by a professional more valid than any other taken by a mere mortal? Or can’t the factual reporting via Twitter of someone who is experiencing the event be considered as journalism? Lets go step by step.

What is Journalism?

Journalism is the profession of writing or communicating, formally employed by publications and broadcasters, for the benefit of a particular community of people. The writer or journalist is expected to use facts to describe events, ideas, or issues that are relevant to the public. Journalists (also known as news analysts, reporters, and correspondents) gather information, and broadcast it so we remain informed about local, state, national, and international events. They can also present their points of view on current issues and report on the actions of the government, public officials, corporate executives, interest groups, media houses, and those who hold social power or authority. Journalism is described as The Fourth Estate.

Wikipedia

For starters, and from this point of view, there are lots of things considered as journalism that couldn’t be. But that is not the subject of today. What has always scared the Citizen Journalism slanderers was the possible lack of quality and impartiality of the journalistic reports submitted by the non-professional. This coming from an industry that has been making a living out of the reproduction of press releases. It’s not a matter of education, we have scientists, economists, lawyers etc, practising journalism. It is not a matter of having a contract with a communication company, since many journalists are in precarious situations, or developing their activity on their own. How can we define the features of Citizen Journalism then?

The possibility of a more active participation with the media comes with the technological revolution of democratization of information gathering and distribution devices. Which means, when it became possible to take pictures and write text and publish it on the web in a matter of minutes and without costs. Ever since we could distribute contents to a wider audience without recurring to the traditional channels, Citizen Journalism became possible. And this is just the logistics that allowed the common user to make Citizen Journalism, which doesn’t mean it will, of course. What defines the act of Jornalism by citizens is exactly the same that defines traditional Journalism, but with peculiar characteristics.

Citizen Journalism features

• It’s casual, whoever practices the journalistic act can do it only once in a lifetime.