Citizen journalism: hidden agenda or media revolution?

Some critics believe this kind of reporting is not journalism because it lacks objectivity and fairness - two pillars of real journalism. Others insist, however, that citizen journalism is the future and revolution of media and poses a serious challenge to traditional media.

Lesley Cowling, senior lecturer at Wits University's School of Journalism, told Bizcommunity.com this week: “The internet and new technologies now allow individuals to report to each other on news, their experiences and opinions. This is good in that it has democratised media and communication. However, whether this kind of exchange can be defined as journalism is up for debate.

“The advantages of traditional commercial media are that they are professionalised, have historically had the resources and skills, and are bound by codes of ethics to produce content and deliver quality news and debate to a wide audience, thus joining people together to make a public, which can then engage in the news of the day.”

Some ‘news reports' claimed to be ‘unbalanced'

Twenty people were killed during the violence, and blurred footages and pictures of riot police chasing bloodied protesters, including images of student Neda Agha Soltan as she lay dying after being shot, were broadcast globally in TV news channels, mostly via YouTube.

Critics say however that some of those ‘news reports' were unbalanced, exaggerated, unbalanced and not credible, and meant to discredit the government and present a brutal side of Iran to the West.

William Bird, Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) director, said: “The dangers of citizen journalism are the same for other media - unprofessional and unethical behaviour. While these forms of citizen journalism will change the landscape for media, they are not journalists who are operating as professionals. This is a critical distinction as the survival of our traditional media will rely on their credibility for survival.

Trusted sources are a must

“So we may read something in a text or on the internet but we need to verify it, we need sources we can trust. While citizen journalists can certainly help to tell stories that some media cannot or get access to, we still need credible media bodies and journalists to offer us ethical fair and accurate information.

“Citizen journalism is a form of journalism in that it seeks to report events in our world to other people. Advice from other journalists, professional and best ethical practice will be two key elements that will distinguish professional journalists from citizen journalists. This requires better skills and commitment as well as editorial support and commitment.”

Cowling said: “One of the dangers of news circulating through social networks and websites is that globally there are still many communities that do not have access to computers, free bandwidth and other means.

“They can become invisible, as they have no voice in the new media. It then becomes difficult to judge, as in the case of Iran, to what extent Twitter and Facebook represent the views of the population.

“However, the commercial media will have to move from the old model if it is to survive, and find innovative ways of inserting journalism into social networks, and new forms of media communication.”