Social Media and Citizen Journalism

Hi delegates!

For your first topic I wanted to give you a some background on citizen journalism and its place on social media as this kind of media is now on a higher standing because of the lack of trust in mainstream media.

Pew Research Center for Journalism and Media suggests that 68% of American adults have said that they occasionally got their news on social media. Now even though 57% of these people believe that stories online may be inaccurate, they all still use it as a news platform. The questions to consider are how did social media transform from an interaction platform to a news outlet and how has it given a voice to billions of people to do their own “reporting?”

Citizen journalists can be found everywhere, reporting giving breaking news and keeping the entire world updated with their cameras. However, the ease of doing so has been revolutionized by social media. 43% Americans get their news of Facebook (Pew) and even news outlets have started breaking news first on Facebook and Twitter and then developing them on their networks. Further, according to Cision 51.8% of professional journalists use social media to put together their own stories because it is a source of (most of the time) raw content. 

Coming back to citizen journalists, platforms like Facebook can voice the story of an individual to billions. It is a matter of sheer convenience – it takes 4 mins 36 secs on each page of a news outlet but just 1 min 41 secs on social media to get the news (Isentia). People want big details in small packets, and this should have pushed the mainstream media to creating such services but that is where traditional professional journalism and citizen journalism are at odds. 

Social media allows people to converse with each other about a story with ease, and a lot of times even interact with the source. Citizen journalism demystifies media and makes it more democratic. Society decides what needs to be the “breaking news” and makes it viral.

Accuracy however may not always be guaranteed. For example, the anti-vaccine campaign is being promoted heavily on social media by cult-parents formally called citizen journalists. 2 out of 5 parents of children under the age of 18 have seen misleading stories about vaccines on such platforms (Healthline). Such fabrication is seen even with posts, photos and video clips. Such “fake news” creates further confusion among users. 

Ironically it has been the distrust in mainstream media that has promoted citizen journalists and given them a louder voice. Soft media such as Daily Mail and Buzzfeed promote citizen journalism and have created a new avenue away from the “fake news” filled mainstream. Such user generated content also takes finds places in blogs and podcasts which have become quite popular in the last decade. However, majority of the times, citizen journalists use such platforms to give their opinions on the story they are ‘reporting’ rather than objectively report the story that has been witnessed. Once again there comes a question of experience and professionalism versus raw truth and passion.

As delegates think about how citizen journalism has affect professional journalism and how mainstream media can utilize this “new media” to its benefit!

References

532666730428143. (2018, January 14). Is Citizen Journalism Killing Professional Journalism? Retrieved from https://artplusmarketing.com/is-citizen-journalism-killing-professional-journalism-b60531ee1d0c

Is social media a good source for news? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.isentia.com/news/blog/viewpoint/is-social-media-a-good-source-for-news

Matsa, K. E., Shearer, E., Matsa, K. E., & Shearer, E. (2018, September 21). News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2018. Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org/2018/09/10/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2018/

Medical information and health advice you can trust. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/

Rogers, T., Rogers, T., Columbia University, Associated Press, & New York Daily News. (n.d.). Can Bloggers Replace the Work of Professional Journalists? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/bloggers-professional-journalists-2074116