With the rapid development of modern technologies and shifts in categories and roles a new term ‘citizen journalism’ has appeared. According to the new broadened concepts of journalism and news Twitter provides an opportunity to fulfill the roles of citizen journalists in the democratic society.
The term ‘citizen journalism’ involves new categories of population in the process of newscasting, admitting significance of amateur reports. As cited in Crawford (2009) Bowman & Wills (2003) defined the concept of citizen journalism as “the act of a citizen, or a group of citizens, playing an active role in the process of collecting , reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information” (p. 226). The increasing citizens’ activity may be explained by the current popularity of digital technologies and media. Previously only professional journalists groups could compile news blocks as well as broadcast them. Coggin (2009) noted that the casual participators or witnesses can provide important evidence for the reports as well as compile the entire reports themselves. At the present moment registered users of Twitter may share information with other users easily. As cited in Deuze (2008) Wellman et al. (2001) noted that “access to new media like the Internet enhances people’s participatory capital and supplements their social contacts” (p. 852). Twitter enables citizens to share and access information which they consider newsworthy.
The concepts of newsworthy information and news have been changed in the course of time. As cited in Crawford (2009) Leibling (1965) noted that perception of news is personal and people often confuse news with the information provided by the mass media (p. 232). Twitter users are often criticized for sharing personal information that could be interesting only to the limited circle of friends. As cited in Crawford (2009) Kelly (2009) stated that only 3.6 per cent of Twitter discussions were news-related (p. 234). Customizable nature of Twitter allows users following updates of their friends, associates or authors that are of interest to them on a selective basis. This selectiveness is predetermined by the personal perception of newsworthy information. Topics of Twitter posts may vary between the death of a pet to the participation in the events of local or world importance. Great number of Twitter users and their opinions is significant for viewing different spheres of life from different perspectives, and protecting democratic liberties of citizen journalists.
The social phenomena of citizen journalism may be developed only in the democratic society. It requires the freedom of speech as well as lack of censorship, as the questions raised in the Twitter posts are as a rule unprejudiced. Twitter amateur reports not only provide unbiased citizens’ opinions, but even may be opposed to the official state news broadcasters. For example, Twitter discussions damaged CNN reputation in 2009, criticizing its slow reaction to the Iranian protests. The CNNFail topic that became trendy among the Twitter users may be a vivid example of beneficial impact of citizen journalism on the public opinion and its role in the struggle for democratic liberties. This protest of amateur journalists may be regarded a turning point in the development of citizen journalism, proving that it can be applicable to Twitter discussions in their present day form.
Blurring the frontiers between the personal impressions and newsworthy data posted by the Twitter users, the concept of citizen journalism is at the stage of its development. Shifting the roles of professional journalists and official news broadcasters, the Twitter amateur citizen journalism appeared to be a significant tool in the struggle for democratic liberties.
Plenty of perspectives provided by citizen journalists and official news broadcasters made consumers hesitate about the quality of the news coverage. Increasing popularity of portable and personal devices enables the audience to access several news blocks and to compare the information provided as well as enables journalists to gather additional materials for their reports.
Increasing popularity of the portable devices made different categories of population active citizen journalists. Coggin (2009) noted that a wide range of public might contribute to the citizens’ reports, “from groups of contributors organized around a subject or geographic areas to the casual participation of observers who are lucky – or unlucky – enough to be at the scene of a newsworthy event” (p. 324). The professional journalist groups cannot predict the important current events and arrive upon the scene with the necessary equipment. Only due to the popularity of the portable devices and activity of occasional participators the photos of the twin towers crash or hurricanes were taken. Coggin (2009) noted that “There is the culturally significant role of the mobile in gathering and construction of news. We find the incorporation of the mobile-wielding citizen-journalist into the practices of reporting” (p. 314). Personal phones equipped with cameras enabled every citizen to become a journalist and to gather physical evidence for amateur reports which in some occasions appear to be not less significant than the professional ones.
Citizens’ participation in the process of news blocks creation increased the level of the audience interest in the current affairs. Hesitating in trustworthiness of the broadcasted news, the spectators start looking for different sources of information and opportunities to compare the news blocks content. Mobile phones provide plenty of opportunities for accessing different channels of information and even participating in discussions concerning the events and their possible consequences. Not to mention the Twitter sample citizen journalists’ reports, the official news broadcasters post their blocks online as well. Crawford (2009) noted that “The primary role of the online population was to behave just as people were expected to behave offline: as an audience” (p. 856). With the contemporary shift of the citizens’ and journalists’ roles, the statement is still true, the spectators behave as they are expected to behave offline, critically evaluating available information and complementing reports with their personal experience or data from other sources.
Popularity of mobile phones and personal portable devices increased effectiveness of the professional journalists’ work. Availability of cameras, Dictaphones and other devices opened up new opportunities for reporters devoted to their work. Coggin (2009) noted that ‘mojo’ is a special term indicating application of mo9bile phones by reporters. Appearance of the concept itself proves the significant impact of the phenomena on the development of the journalists’ profession. Mojo became a useful tool for professionals aimed at gathering more realistic illustrations for their reports. Phone cameras are not only convenient and close at hand, but help to make photos and videos which look realistic and more persuasive. At the present moment materials from personal archives may become physical evidence used in the news blocks. As cited in Deuze (2008) Carey (1996) noted that “Journalism is another name for democracy” (p. 855). Mojo enhanced the effectiveness of professional journalists’ work and became beneficial for the struggle for democratic liberties.
Mobile phones and other portable devices play a significant role in gathering information and constructing news blocks by both amateur and professional journalists. Opportunities provided by new technological achievements are widely used by reporters for making the materials more realistic and for providing unbiased opinions of the current affairs.
With the increasing popularity of the social phenomena of citizen journalism the significance of professional training of journalists is often questioned. Under the condition that the concept of professionalism is unbiased, the experience of amateur journalists is to become beneficial for the further development of professional broadcasting instead of denying its importance.
The phenomenon of citizen and professional journalism are not mutually exclusive notwithstanding the current debates concerning the relationship between journalists’ education and talent. As cited in Nollan (2008) Allan (2006) noted that “In both production and reception contexts, forms of professional journalism increasingly exist alongside proliferating forms of amateur journalism” (p. 24). Within the present day realities the concept of journalism consists of both work of professional journalists and citizens lacking education in the sphere. People get accustomed to categorizing the social phenomenon and differentiating between their positive and negative consequences, while in fact the concepts are broader and more complicated. The same is with prejudices concerning professional training of would be journalists. People speaking about disadvantages of professional training of journalists either have distorted idea of the process of education or do not see the opportunities for practical implementation of their theoretical knowledge.
With the purpose of reaching the compromise, the educational system needs to be reformed. For example, more emphasis needs to be put on the cultural context of education. The changing environment is to alter the educational standards, though the educational realities often do not coincide with the necessities of the learners. Windschufttler (2000) noted that “Academics within cultural studies are ignorant of many of the basic working practices of contemporary journalism and draw their beliefs about the profession from radical theory rather than empirical investigation” (p. 145). The broadening gap between the theoretical propositions and the realities of the contemporary news broadcasting industry is the main pre-condition for the debates concerning the significance of professional journalists’ education. Updating of the syllabus and journalists’ courses are compulsory for enhancing the proficiency of the specialists with a degree. Taking into consideration the cultural context of the journalist profession and focus on practical implementation of theoretical data could increase the effectiveness of the journalists’ higher education.
One of the most important points of practical training of would be journalists is development of their technical proficiency. The increasing popularity and availability of the contemporary technical achievements resulted in appearance of social phenomena of citizen journalism. In order not to make this factor amateur reporters’ advantage, the contemporary educational programs need to be aimed at development of the computer skills of the learners. Flew & Wilson (2010) noted that “High levels of technical proficiency with online tools and technologies, are all now central to journalism in the 21st century” (p. 144). The pre-conditions of citizen journalism success are to be researched with the aim of further implementation of its achievements in the frames of professional training. Would be professional journalists need to be taught to use the online resources and portable devices, and analyze the citizen journalists’ reports in order to enhance the effectiveness of their work.
Untrained citizen reporters cannot quickly replace the professional journalists, and success of the amateur journalism can be explained by the rapid progress of technical innovations and social media. At the same time the educational programs need to be reformed for implementation of the achievements of the citizen journalists and enhancing the proficiency of the professionals.
References
- Flew, T. & Wilson, J. A. (2008) Journalism as Social Networking: The Australian You Decide Project and the 2007 Federal Election. Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism.
- Nolan, D. (2008) Journalism and Professional Education: A Contradiction in Terms. Media International Australia, 126: 14-26.
- Windschuttle, K. (2000) The Poverty of Cultural Studies. Journalism Studies, 1.1: 145-159
- Crawford, K. (2009). Whispering News: From word-of-mouth to the ambient news network. In News Online: Transformation and Continuity. G. Miekle and G. Redden (Eds.). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Deuze, M. (2008). The Changing Context of News Work: Liquid Journalism and Monitorial Citizenship. International Journal of Communications 2, pp 848-865.
- Goggin, G. (2009). The intimate turn of news: Mobile news. In News Online: Transformation and Continuity, Meikle, G. & Redden,G. (Eds.). London: Palgrave Macmillan.