WHAT'S THE DEAL

WITH CITIZEN
JOURNALISM? Sasha Semina, Coco Weiner, Emily Smith
In a world where social media and technology have made it easier than
ever for citizens to report their opinions and eyewitness encounters, has
this involvement had a meaningful impact ontraditional media&
political culture?
WHAT IS IT ANYWAY?

Citizen journalism is the creation of media by those who aren't

professional/traditional journalists in order to inform the public of new or important
events or to expose information which they believe citizens have a right to know. It
can include (and be as varied as) fact-checking, reporting leaked information, sharing
videos and photos, contributing to news sites or newspapers, and reporting or
documenting an event on a blog or a form of social media.

THE PROS AND CONS

More communication & collaboration Internet opens up possibility for

between citizens & mainstream media
Social media can reach & report
breaking news before mainstream
media
Citizens can hold traditional media
accountable
Can expose things that citizens were
previously unaware of & may have a
right to know
information to be manipulated; hard to
tell if news is authentic
[In the opinion of some] Some citizen
journalism hinders our gov. system &
can put officers' lives in danger
Citizen videos & pictures can be
ambiguous because they're
"decontextualized"

A SHIFT IN MEDIA

New technology has given citizens ability to transmit info globally

(used to only be available to large media corporations)
Argued that citizen journalism threatens factual news due to suggested
lack of training, ethics, & accountability
Traditional outlets have noticed a shift towards digital news sources &
have begun to adapt by using social media tools

CONCLUSION

So what is the relation between the voting population and their perception of citizen
journalism? As evidenced by the examples below, the effect of it can be seen in
certain demographics and voter groups. For instance, the Rodney King film ushered
in a whole new debate over racial discrimination and helped minorities to gain more
of a voice in politics. This became evident in the fact that candidates began to
campaign to African Americans and other minorities, particularly democrats. In
contrast, Republicans responded with the argument that the officers should be
protected and respected, which tends to show their white majority. The voice of the
citizens in the media has provided more coverage of breaking news, more
collaboration between mainstream and conventional media, and can also expose
errors in news coverage and information that can sway citizens' opinion of the
government (such as through WikiLeaks). Clearly these firsthand accounts can
either enrich our media or be of detriment to it, since one can never be sure of the
bias or manipulation which may be present. Overall, the current blue-collar, white
majority, anti-establishment, anti-immigration, anti-trade and anti-minority
Republican party and the current populist, globalized, free-trade-favoring, minority
and immigration supporting, regulated economy favoring Democratic party are only
strengthened by citizen journalism. In other words, it seems to be adding to the
divisiveness of our political landscape.
 CITIZEN
JOURNALISM IN
ACTION
WikiLeaks
Julian Assange; Australian computer programmer & hacker who
created WikiLeaks
Wikileaks=Website that leaks classified information onto the
internet; reveals state secrets as a tactic to expose illegitimate
governments
They exposed things such as: US helicopter attacking
kids, journalists, & citizens in Baghdad (2010),classified Iraq war
& Guantanamo Bay information
Some saw him as rightly exposing government others saw him
as sabotaging government

Rathergate
Blogger Scott Johnson from Powerline blog discovered fraudulent documents used by CBS
in a news story regarding President Bush's service in the National Guard
Johnson realized these documents stood out (& ended up being word processed); they
portrayed Bush's service in a negative light & told of his deliberate refusal of an order to
receive a physical
Johnson wrote about it this on his blog & soon other bloggers chimed in, developing more
information on the fraud (collaboration of citizen journalists to expose traditional media)
Dan Rather then left CBS (after 40 years)

Asiana Crash
First news & updates of crash on social media by David Eun (passenger on plane)
Tweeted out about the plane crash: "I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most
everyone seems fine. I'm ok. Surreal...." (even took a picture of the smoking plane &
posted it)
Retweeted 32,700 times & in hours Eun's followers increased by tenfold
Other people posted pictures to internet as well
Scott Traylor (in terminal) snapped first picture & posted it...he even told the
traditional media they could use it if they gave him credit
Mass media couldn't get to plane crash (middle of runway) so people relied on people
liek Eun & Traylor for information
Shows social media & citizen journalism can provide information in moments
following a tragedy (Boston Marathon, Asiana crash, etc.)

Zapruder &
Rodney King Films
First big/famous act of citizen journalism: Zapruder film of the Kennedy assassination
Abraham Zapruder was the only one to capture the actual assassination in 1963; the film was not
actually aired until 1975 on "Good Night America"
The Rodney King Film: When citizen video documenting started becoming popular
1991 amateur video clip of Rodney King on the ground being hit by police officers with batons
recorded by neighbor George Holliday
Video played over & over on TV & eventually led to the arrest of the police officers who were
ultimately acquitted
This sparked riots & has led to more & more citizen recordings of police brutality incidents