Everybody’s got one

Opinion. Everybody’s got one. It’s a touchy subject, now more so than ever before with the current political climate we now live in. Everybody has one and everybody wants to share theirs with anybody who will listen. It’s a basic principal of pluralism and democracy, this allowance to demonstrate and voice our differences publicly. Blogs and other social platforms have made is easier to share those opinions with the world and to develop communities with other like-minded or concerned individuals. These bloggers can sometimes be called “citizen journalists.” Citizen journalism is defined as "the act of a citizen...playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing, and disseminating news and information" (This is Citizen Journalism at its finest.) The draw of citizen journalism is "the prospect of citizens themselves participating in the agenda setting process" (Social news, citizen journalism and democracy.) When people create and utilize blogs, nine times out of ten it is because they are trying to connect with people. They are trying and succeeding in participating in the national conversation by becoming active contributors versus passive consumers. Blogs give citizen journalists that sense that they are taking back the power from the traditional news outlets to dictate the news cycle by contributing their own thoughts and opinions through stories, photos, or videos.

Most of our readings this week dealt with citizen journalists and they all made me think about the same thing…Are citizen journalists (and by extension their blogs and websites) reliable sources of news information and can they compare with their traditional news media counterparts to change the media landscape?

It’s my humble opinion that they are capable of both.  Citizen journalists and their blogs, websites, or whatever social platform they happen to use, are creating their own communities. In many cases, these citizen journalists might be the only ones reporting on their communities, which automatically gives them a healthy dose of credibility.  If you’re the only one investigating, writing, and producing content about a certain issue, community, or area you are going to become an authority.  An example that comes to mind is http://www.northescambia.com/.  This online newspaper (which functions more like a blog) reports events that happen in North Escambia County, FL. This upper half of the county tends to get underreported in the local traditional new outlets that report on Escambia County (local TV Station WEAR and The Pensacola News Journal.) While only in operation for a few short years, it has already placed itself as the news authority for “the North End” of Escambia County.  If any major news events occur beyond the city of Pensacola’s city limits, the traditional outlets depend on northescambia.com to report about it. They have become the source for their community. The last sentence on northescambia.com’s About section reads, “With your help, we’ll provide you with a complete look at what is happening here in our community.”  This website depends on citizen journalists to function and for the most part has done a good job with utilizing these contributors and maintaining their sense of credibility. If an accident of some kind has occurred (an example I’m thinking of is an auto accident) they will take photos and eye witness reports and combine it with the official statement from the Florida Highway Patrol. They have managed to find the sweet spot…providing unrestricted commentary in the midst of sourced information.

The biggest claim against blogs and citizen journalists is the potential for deception or extreme bias, in that these journalists are not beholden to the same ethical standards as their traditional counterparts.  Sources are often cited as being the best way to ensure accuracy and broadness in a journalists reporting. The more sources you have, the better chance you have of presenting all sides fairly. In a study about source diversity in US online citizen journalism and online newspaper articles, it was found that online newspaper articles featured an average of 3.64 sources per article while citizen journalism articles averaged in roughly 1.37 per article.  Traditional journalists do have a tendency to utilize more sources, thus making their articles and opinions appear more credible. However traditional journalists have the advantage over citizen journalists in a key way that changes everything. They have access to official sources, larger databases, new wires, you name it. Citizen journalists tend to only have unofficial, carefully mined sources who may be close to a particular topic but don’t have the official “in.” Think about asking the Pope for a quote about contemporary Catholicism versus your local priest. They may both have the same general consensus on the topic (even using the same verbiage) but the Pope (official source) is going to look more credible than your local clergy (unofficial source.) I don’t think a proliferation or lack of sources makes or breaks you in the journalist world. Look at the Huffington Post for example.  It started out as a blog in 2005 and by 2009 has expanded so heavily it was investing $1.75 million into a fund for investigative reporting. The HuffPo has not been without its share of controversies but its contribution of commentary within well sourced news content has changed the online and traditional media landscapes irrevocably. 

Another claim to support citizen journalists as reliable sources and comparable to their traditional counterparts is in the traditional news’ steady infiltration into the blogosphere. Sites like HuffPo and Newsvine actively use videos and stories from traditional outlets such as CNN and the BBC. In some cases, like with Newsvine, they are even owned by traditional companies (Newsvine is owned by MSNBC.) Traditional news outlets will more than likely never stop influencing what the public views as newsworthy, but I personally feel there is room for collaboration between the old and the new. Many traditional news outlets now include some form of contribution from a citizen journalist. From videos taken on cell phones during protests that are used during broadcast news, to comments on news stories that are then read live on the air, citizen journalist’s contributions are making an impact on the news cycle. They are breaking down the barrier between the traditional "gatekeepers" and the average Joe. I believe this collaboration is critical, now more than ever. We need citizen journalists who aren't afraid to attend protests and report back live video feeds to their own blogs for traditional sites to pick up. Bloggers have the capability to enact real change through their work, be it written, verbal, or visual. Whether we like it or not, opinions do matter, especially when they are voiced with intention. Opinions can and do effect the world we live in. Through establishing themselves and growing their communities, they (the blogs, and the citizen journalists behind them) have the potential to change the media landscape for the better.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s post and come back next week!

Sources:

Pilkington, Ed. "Is the Huffington Post Ready to Replace the Ailing US Newspaper Industry?"The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 05 Apr. 2009. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.

(2010). Citizen Journalism at its finest. New Media and Society, 12(8).

Goode, Luke (2009). Social news, citizen journalism, and democracy. New Media and Society, 11(8), 1287-1305.

Carpenter, Serena (2008.) Source Diversity in US Online Citizen Journalism and Online Newspaper articles, International Symposium on Online Journalism.