Week 4 - Journalism as a Public conversation in the 21st century; what is the role of the citizen?

Citizen journalism, blogging, forums and more has overwhelmed the traditional media in the 21st century.

According to the reading in Chapter 4 - Citizen Journalism & Audience-Generated Content, it is understood that blogging is not journalism. So, what really is journalism?

Journalism is a professional discipline which requires extensive amount of research and prudence in its execution. Journalists are required to remove, proof-read, edit, eliminate, package and disseminate news and information objectively while blogging is the exact opposite. Bloggers are not required to follow journalistic values and blogging are usually self- opinionated ramblings, which are often incoherent and prejudiced with little regard for accurateness or balance.

Despite its subjective nature, blogs are becoming a form of mainstream media. Caroline McCarthy, journalist of CNet.com pointed out that Web giant, Google launched a virtual fashion portal, Boutique.com and, together with fashion personalities, the IT Company brought on board fashion bloggers to curate the fashion scene (CNet.com,2010).

It is noted that Boutiques.com allows both bloggers and enlisted fashion celebs to construct and form "boutiques" of merchandises for consumption. Aside from inviting traditional media journalists, Google acknowledge the influence of high-profile style bloggers. Google has also addressed the desires of the large number of virtual fashion hopefuls who are interested to go public with their fashion style, producing their own content through blogging.

No doubt, the inception of fashion bloggers alongside the ‘traditional’ superstars has demonstrated how great this innovative class of public personality has come forth. Google has proven that braided journalism, the intertwining of traditional journalism and citizen journalism can come together as one.

So, is braided journalism the new future?

References

McCarthy, C. (2010). Google launches Boutiques.com. Viewed on 28 May 2010. <http://news.cnet.com/>.

Week 3 - The future of journalism.

Alternative media, a distinctive and liberated platform, which has emerged evidently over the past decade and has brought forth a new dimension of change, in comparison to the conventional mainstream print publications in our society today.

With the increase of alternative media i.e. citizen journalism and social media platforms, print publications is said to have reach a decline. Singapore’s mainstream print publications which includes The Straits Times, Lian He Zao Bao and many more, is solely owned by the government. Such print publications report news with an objective and it follows strict guidelines.

Coyer, Dowmunt & Fountain (2007) acknowledged that alternative media, which is facilitated and assisted by the advancements of the cyberspace and Internet technologies, has permitted more people to come into contact with the various kinds of media resistance as planners, consumers and producers. These participants of the alternative media are members of the community, who have access to the news and information, whenever they want to access it.

Social media platforms and citizen journalism are examples of alternative communication created by advocates who are has a different point of view. Such media platforms are ambiguous and, do not have a specific set of rules. Instead there is a freedom of style whereby producers are able to express themselves freely.

Classified as a part of the civil society, which grants access to different people of different status in the community by allowing them to make their own news and be heard, away from the government body. In this case, anyone can be a journalist on the alternative media platform! No doubt, participation is more effectual in such platforms as it involves interaction amongst people.

In contrast to the mainstream media, alternative media has proven to be more effective and successful in organizing deeper forms of participation amongst the community, whether they are connected or disconnected from the media (Olga, Bart & Nico, 2007).

Alongside the rise of the secondary media platforms, creators of the citizen journalism site gives citizens who are interested and wants to be involved a chance to contribute by writing or criticizing on stories or news that the local publishing media does not pick up. For instance, two locally famous citizen journalism site found on the Internet will be Citizen Journalism.sg and the Singapore News Alternative. Both news sites are created to serve the community as information sharing portals whereby people, interested in the local news media, are able to post their articles and commentaries and interact freely.

With the emergence of blog sites and forums through the Internet medium, blogging has become the famous form of interactive alternative, which allows participation from both the producer, who is the owner of the blog site, and the consume, who are the readers and commentators that visits the blog site.

What will the future of journalism be like?

Nothing is definite. However, alternative media has indirectly pushed the mainstream media to catch up with the technology advancements and, it is leading the society towards a different future with the help of the different forms of technology.

References

Coyer, K., Dowmunt, T., & Fountain, A. (2007). The Alternative Media Handbook. Routeledge, Canada.

Olga, B. G., Bart, C., & Nico, C. (2007). Understanding Alternative Media. Open University Press, Maidenhead, London.