Once, the news was sourced and told solely by the humble journalist. The world would gather around a TV or radio and hear what reporters would have to say. Nowadays, we have a constant stream of news pouring through our screens. A reason behind the quick updates and how we’re able to receive them, is that anyone nowadays can be a journalist in some form.
Most people have phones and access to the internet, with the world-wide-web being significant in these advancements. So, all it takes for a story to get out there is a quick snap, type and send. The merge between society and the news was how the term citizen journalism was coined and came about, and it can serve many positives, as well as present challenges for the future of journalism.
Citizen journalism is, essentially, when the public contribute to news stories and help spread stories. The act of a citizen, or group of citizens, playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analysing and disseminating news and information. It has shown an increase in commonality over the years, becoming more prominent.
Since the introduction of new technologies, society has been given more opportunities to learn and explore the world. All it takes is a few taps on a phone and you can learn about almost anything you want. This has led to the spread of news rapidly increase.
Several news outlets have tried to incorporate some form of citizen journalism into their reports and programmes, with mainstream broadcasters doing so, thus highlighting the rising recognition of it and its prominence nowadays. The BBC established Have Your Say, for example, and the Young Reporter competition, which is certainly a positive in inspiring the younger generations to be educated about good journalism and the importance of it in our society.
There is an important matter to consider, however. There needs to be a clear line of separation between citizen and professional journalism, with professionals making sure it’s known to the public what news was sourced from where. Not only can this help avoid any legal liabilities or challenges encountered, but it can also show why the quality may be different especially if there are any inaccuracies.
This highlights a separate point of importance, all news and stories, even those collated from citizens, should be fact-checked and monitored for quality control by the professionals.
The increasing popularity of citizen journalism also allows for society to learn more about specialised subjects and matters that perhaps aren’t covered so much in mainstream media. For example, in a world currently dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic and tales of woe and misery, a lot of other important issues aren’t covered, such as Russ Grayson’s piece on food waste and how it’s reported.
In future, society will most likely continue to benefit from the advantages that citizen journalism provides. It provides a link between journalism and society which can provide many positives for how quickly and efficiently we get our news. I do feel there is a danger, however, that we risk slipping into an abyss of misinformation and unguided news. The need to control and limit, to an extent, citizen journalism and teach people to be cautious with what they read online will be of the upmost importance, and allow for this valuable stream of information to continue.