A few decades ago a new movement in journalism sprung up by the name of “Citizen Journalism.” It represented an erosion of trust in politics, corporate media, and civic agencies.
Utilizing Internet-related technologies, untrained reporters began reporting events as they saw them unfold. Many of their reports were and continue to be instantaneous.
Blogs were born and then legitimized. As a result “Citizen Journalism” became formularized.
Ways to use the formulas are clearly laid out in the article Five tips for citizen journalism from ProPublica’s new “crowdsorcerer.” Websites like the Huffington Post outline the PR and editorial standards for bourgeoning citizen journalists. The 11 Layers of Citizen Journalism by Steve Outing offers insights from “participatory journalism to … citizen reporting with [an] organization's full involvement.”
“All journalists are citizens; more citizens are now journalists,” wrote John Burke in the EditorsWebLog.org Website article “The rise of ‘citizen journalism.’”
“The most important question the consumer of news and opinion will ask herself or himself is the question they have always asked: do I trust this source to tell me something true and useful? Some will pass that test; some will fail. Open societies that want to stay open should keep setting that test.”
Are Blogs a possible worthwhile medium that might “pass that test” in providing information that is “true and useful”?
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People have been writing up posts and updates on events going on in their life, and people who may not even know them have the possibility of reading this information.
ReplyDeleteBut to use the access of internet to give immediate news coverage given by a citizen could pass the test. There is a risk that you won't receive the right information but when you read newspapers or articles written by actual journalists you have a risk about not receiving the right information, or any information at all.
There will most likely be more bias in the articles, as citizens typing up a story don't really have to write to sell their print, nor do they have to please a majority of people. It will be their interpretation of a coverage and their feelings on it most likely. In some cases, this type of article is much more honest, and to the extent, able to give more information to the people.
However, there is also the case where people like to write up tall-tale lies just to gain more viewers. People feed off of attention and could very well just twist as story around to make it more entertaining and entertaining it may be, it's dangerous because false facts are being thrusted into the hands of readers.
In my personal opinion on 'Citizen Journalism' I don't think I'm risking anymore when I trust their blogged stories than the same risk when I read articles written by trained reporters. The media controls the mass, so either way, we'll be manipulated one way or another. Who and how much we are manipulated depends on how thoughtlessly we read any story from any source without questioning the plausibility of the facts.
I do not believe that I would rely on blogs as a “trusted” source for world and local news, but I think that they are a great way for people who share a common interest to exchange thoughts and ideas. Having grown up in a small town local news and gossip was passed around at the deli with the morning coffee. In a way blogs are the same except they are written. People recall information with their own spin just as they would write in a manner to support their own position.
ReplyDeleteI have experienced this first hand on several occasion. In one instance, word got around town that I had emergency surgery after a baseball game when in fact it was my father. After the phone calls, text messages, and cards arrived our family found it quite humorous, but the danger became evident when one person argued with my mother that they were certain it was me who had surgery. Additionally, during high school our bus was involved in an accident while on route to a sporting event. I provided the police with a list of team members and each student was asked what had happened. I was amazed as the different versions unfolded with each new eyewitness, but the officer explained that this is quite common. A fact later supported by my father, a police officer of twenty five years.
Given these experiences, how could I rely on blogs as a “trusted source”of information? I do agree with Zach when he states, “Who and how much we are manipulated depends on how thoughtlessly we read any story from any source without questioning the plausibility of the facts.” I also agree that this is true even when news is written by reporters. My father has a saying that there are two sides to a coin and there’s also an “edge.” Most of us have our favorite way to “get the news” and over time come to rely on reporters we believe are “trusted sources” based on previous experience. Whether we read, watch TV, listen to radio, or go online we need to be conscientious consumers and find the “edge.”
To make a long story short, no. If someone relied only on blogs for their information I'd be forced to call them a fool. I don't believe I'd believe any blog as a source of truthful information. To begin with blogs are used as personal tools. Anyone can make a blog, anyone can write what they want as well as make up whatever story they want; and, I don't know what kind of biased opinion the blog author may or may not have.
ReplyDeleteI think that blogs are a great way to bounce ideas off one another and to hear other peoples input on a topic. It's a great way to communicate with individuals that have the same concerns and interests on a given subject.
ReplyDeletePeople using blogs for their only source of information seems a bit ridiculous to me. That is why we have journalists and newspapers and websites that are suppose to be trustworthy enough to report the news to the public. We depend on the media for our window to the world. Not on some John Doe that for all we know, could be making information up for his own entertainment.
This is the reason why we, the journalism students, are here at SCCC. We want to be those dependable journalists that the public go to for information. If I thought the public should depend on blogs, then I wouldn't be here.