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Online Journalism: Theory and Practice

Online Journalism: Theory and Practice. Week 2 Lecture 2 Summer 2011 G. F Khan, PhD Dept. of Media & Communication, YeungNam University, South Korea. Part 2. Citizen Journalism. Citizen journalism. http://onlinejournalism.wikispaces.com/Videos. Citizen journalism.

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Online Journalism: Theory and Practice

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  1. Online Journalism: Theory and Practice Week 2 Lecture 2 Summer 2011 G. F Khan, PhD Dept. of Media & Communication, YeungNam University,South Korea

  2. Part 2 • Citizen Journalism

  3. Citizen journalism • http://onlinejournalism.wikispaces.com/Videos

  4. Citizen journalism • “Is the concept of members of the public playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information.” Source: Wikipedia • “…when the people known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another.”

  5. Terms • Participatory journalism • Open source journalism • Online journalism • Citizen journalism

  6. Citizen journalism • Every citizen is a journalist • E.g. ohmynews • 모든 시민은 기자다 • http://www.ohmynews.com/ • Most of the articles are written by other freelance contributors who are mostly ordinary citizens.

  7. Who is doing it? • Citizens • Using blogs, wikis, digital storytelling applications, photo- and video-sharing sites, • Traditional media • Some traditional media companies feature citizen journalism, such as CNN’s I-Reporter • Users generated news • user-generated news website, such as ohmynews and NowPublic

  8. Who is doing it? Examples • New York Times blogs • Infuses opinions, interpretation, and insight into articles • No longer static news environments • uReport • Fox News & MySpace • iReport • CNN sponsored citizen journalism (“On CNN”)

  9. What it covers? • Citizens journalism mostly take local approach, centering on news about a city or even a specific neighborhood, or focus on special-interest topics, such as financial matters or gender issues.

  10. Why is it significant? • People report their issues themselves • Provides a complete picture that cannot be seen by an outsider • Due to limitations of access and time traditional reporting may fail to present complete picture • Through blogs, citizen journalists have broken stories about political corruption, police brutality, and other issues of concern to local and national communities.

  11. Why is it significant? • Little towns which got no coverage on their local events could now do their own reporting thanks to access to new technology.

  12. Gatekeepers • Gatekeeper concept • A gatekeeper is a person who controls access to something • So what is a gatekeeper in journalism? • Someone who determines the news • Highlights particular stories, promotes trends, restricts the flow of information

  13. Gatekeepers • In the old days, traditional media were the gatekeepers to information • Newspapers were limited in how much they could print • Broadcast was limited in how much time they had to report news

  14. Gatekeepers • However, with the Internet, there have been a number of gaps in the gate that once filter news • Newsweek chose not to publish the story on Clinton-Lewinsky scandal • It was Internet reporter Matt Drudge who posted the story online • The freedom of the Internet allows anyone and everyone to contribute to stories now • THE GATES ARE NO LONGER CLOSED • Gates now open to any and all info. if you have Internet access

  15. Down side • With no filter information overload becomes an issue. • Columbia Journalism Review did a report on the study of online journalism today • Concluded that the Internet did not necessarily translate into a better news environment

  16. Down side • Problematic issues with no gatekeeper and everyone being able to participate • Slashdotcom • Online journalism site that relies on people to report news • People submit news on the web, the editorial staff selects the best news, posts them, and allows them to comment online • Works great until Trolls arrived on the site

  17. Down side • iReport and Steve Jobs • Report posted that Steve Jobs had heart attack • False, but reported anyway • Described as a failure of open systems • iReport tagline: “Unedited. Unfiltered. News.” • Is this really news? Are editors even important?

  18. Down side • Lack of professionalism • many citizen journalists have a weaker sense of what constitutes a reliable story, free of conjecture • Most citizens journalist are not well trained and thus the news stories produced might be inaccurate, offensive, or otherwise lack credibility.

  19. How to make it work? • Follow Standards • Just the Facts • Avoid gossip • No irrelevant opinions • Plagiarism • Spelling and Grammar • Photographic Integrity • Self Integrity • Source Integrity

  20. How to make it work? • Be unbiased • Provide a balance report by Presenting competing viewpoints • Earn readers’ trust • Separates a mere tale from a legitimate news story • Receive community feedback on your story or news

  21. Thank You Questions & Comments

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