Quote: "Citizen journalism, also known as collaborative media, participatory journalism, democratic journalism, guerrilla journalism or street journalism, is based upon public citizens 'playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing, and disseminating news and information.'"
How social media platforms have revolutionized Citizen Journalism.
Citizen journalism definition: The definition of citizen journalism and its importance in modern day journalism.
Social media definition: Definition of social media and how it affects news dissemination.
History of citizen journalism: Evolution of citizen journalism from traditional media to social media platforms.
Social media platforms: An overview of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and how they are used for citizen journalism.
Ethics of citizen journalism: Ethical aspects of Citizen Journalism and how to ensure that Citizen Journalists are credible and unbiased.
Tools for citizen journalism: Digital tools used by Citizen Journalists such as mobile phones, cameras, laptops, and audio recorders.
Coverage of under-reported issues: How citizen journalism can help to report on underreported and overlooked issues that the mainstream media often ignore.
Crowdsourcing: Definition and how crowdsourcing is being used as a tool for Citizen Journalism.
Citizen journalism in emergencies: How social media and Citizen Journalism are being utilized in emergency situations like natural disasters and terrorist attacks.
Verification of citizen journalism: Best practices for verifying citizen journalism and ensuring it’s authenticity.
Impact on mainstream journalism: How Citizen Journalism is changing traditional journalism and the relationship between professional and Citizen Journalists.
Professional vs Citizen Journalism: The differences and similarities between professional journalists and Citizen Journalists.
Regulatory issues: Legal and regulatory issues surrounding citizen journalism.
Future of Citizen Journalism: Potential future developments in Citizen Journalism and how it may evolve.
Crowd-sourced Reporting: Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram allow citizens to share reports, photos, and videos of events happening in their community, which can be helpful in reporting news stories.
Monitoring News Sources: Social media has enabled citizens to monitor the reporting of mainstream news outlets and call attention to inaccuracies or biases in their reporting.
Activism: Social media has been instrumental in organizing and mobilizing citizens for social and political activism, using hashtags to bring attention to issues and events.
Collaborative Journalism: Social media has allowed for collaboration between citizen journalists and professional journalists, leading to the production of high-quality news content.
Citizen Vetting: Social media enables the public to vet the credentials and backgrounds of journalists and commentators, raising awareness of any potential issues of bias or misinformation.
Disseminating Information: Social media platforms enable the rapid dissemination of important news and information at a grassroots level, helping communities to stay informed about local events and occurrences.
Holding Institutions and Governments Accountable: Social media has allowed citizens to hold politicians and public institutions accountable, exposing corruption and wrongdoing.
Providing Diverse Perspectives: Social media has enabled a wider range of voices to be heard, providing diverse perspectives on issues and events that may not be represented in mainstream news.
Creating a Community: Social media has enabled the creation of communities of like-minded individuals who share an interest in citizen journalism or certain issues, providing a network of support and collaboration.
Building Networks: Social media has enabled citizen journalists to build networks with other journalists and media professionals, fostering collaborations and creating opportunities for training and support.
Amplifying Underserved Voices: Social media has enabled the amplification of voices from marginalized communities, helping to address the issue of under-representation in traditional media.
Providing Live Coverage: Social media has enabled citizens to provide live coverage of events as they happen, often in situations where mainstream media outlets are unable to access or cover.
Quote: "Courtney C. Radsch defines citizen journalism 'as an alternative and activist form of news gathering and reporting that functions outside mainstream media institutions, often as a response to shortcomings in the professional journalistic field, that uses similar journalistic practices but is driven by different objectives and ideals and relies on alternative sources of legitimacy than traditional or mainstream journalism'."
Quote: "Jay Rosen offers a simpler definition: 'When the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another.'"
Quote: "The underlying principle of citizen journalism is that ordinary people, not professional journalists, can be the main creators and distributors of news."
Quote: "Citizen journalism should not be confused with community journalism or civic journalism, both of which are practiced by professional journalists."
Quote: "New media technology, such as social networking and media-sharing websites, in addition to the increasing prevalence of cellular telephones, have made citizen journalism more accessible to people worldwide."
Quote: "Notable examples of citizen journalism reporting from major world events are, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Arab Spring, the Occupy Wall Street movement, the 2013 protests in Turkey, the Euromaidan events in Ukraine, and Syrian Civil War, the 2014 Ferguson unrest and the Black Lives Matter movement."
Quote: "Being that citizen journalism is yet to develop a conceptual framework and guiding principles, it can be heavily opinionated and subjective, making it more supplemental than primary in terms of forming public opinion."
Quote: "Critics of the phenomenon, including professional journalists and news organizations, claim that citizen journalism is unregulated, amateur, and haphazard in quality and coverage."
Quote: "Furthermore, citizen journalists, due to their lack of professional affiliation, are thought to lack resources as well as focus on how best to serve the public."