Week 5: Assignment and Student Response to Discussion One and Two

ThursdayNov 2 at 8:47pm

Manage Discussion Entry

Hi All,

“I trust citizen journalism like I trust citizen surgery.� That is a saying on a mug that I find hilarious.

Does the citizen journalist adequately address the political nature of the topic of the story? As a rule, or blanket statement, I would say no. There are certainly enough people with opinions and the means to publish them, whether on a Youtube video or some other social network. My problem with a citizen journalist is that they are not trained and may not adhere to a code of ethics; they may show bias about one political party over another for example. Let’s face it, anyone with a smart phone and internet can be considered a citizen journalist.

Does the citizen journalist call readers and viewers to action about the political issue or topic? I believe that a citizen journalist can try to raise enough interest on an issue that he/she will have some followers that will want to act. Unless they have a large following, I just don’t see how much of a difference they can make. I think their best bet is to turn over videos and pictures to a “real� news outlet and let them handle it.

How does story differ in comparison to one that may be written by a professional journalist? Stories by a journalist are (hopefully) truthful, unbias, well researched and edited and fact checked. A CJ may not adhere to journalistic ethics, report only one side of an issue and use inferior quality pictures and videos (Graber & Dunaway, 2015).

Having said that, reporters cannot be everywhere all the time, especially in emergency situations that happen without warning, like the NY terrorist attack. I suppose that I would rather have grainy or shaky video from an iPhone by a pedestrian than nothing. It may lead to arrests if a suspect can be identified.

CNN’s iReport is a site dedicated to the citizen journalist. Many people may find this refreshing and also closer to home than national news coverage on a topic. There are some beautiful pictures and videos that are clearly not from amateurs. I do agree with the Professor that CJ is here to stay. It is too easy for everyone involved not to.

Graber, D., & Dunaway, J. (2015). Mass Media and American Politics, Ninth Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Electronic Edition.