'Citizen Journalism Has Not Been Successful on a Large Scale'
A post on Beet.TV highlights an interesting issue for anyone interested in the changing mediascape and citizen journalists' role within it.
According to San Francisco Chronicle Editor Phil Bronstein, "Citizen Journalism Has Not Been Successful on a Large Scale," and many others agree.
The article admits there are millions of people uploading video to YouTube, CNN has its iReport property and Current.com also goes after the citizen journo. However, at Beet.TV's online video roundtable, Bronstein said true integration of citizen journalism (CJ) into mainstream media (MSM) still hasn't happened.
Beet.TV's agrees, saying citizen journalism is still in its very early stages.
Furthermore, Charles Tillinghast, president and publisher of msnbc.com agrees with Bronstein. Last year, msnbc acquired the citizen-powered link/blog site Newsvine.com, and Tillinghast admits the full integration of CJ with MSM has yet to happen.
What do you think? How much progress has been made in integrating the CJ into MSM? What steps still need to be taken? Do you think it will ever happen? If so, when?
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Without Citizen journalism we wouldn't have learned lot of truth about politics. The media has manipulated us for a very long time. But we have to find a way to separate the good and the bad from the Youtube videos and blogs.
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Citizen Journalism is still young, but I have to disagree that it has not impacted MSM. How many bloggers are now invited on to comment? I think it is remarkable how much of a buzz we are making, especially being refrerenced to by the MSM for popular opinion. How many times have we heard "The blgosphere is abuzz?"
Slow going for sure, but I think perhaps they are underestimating how much Citizen Journalism has grown. That happens when your perceptions are stuck in the main stream. =)
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CJ is a growing activty with great prospects. I think articles such as Bronstein's come from fear of the competition.
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The MSM has readers and viewers, as does citizen journalism. It is not enough for CJ writers to, in the main, relate and react to each other solely.
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That article is a critique coming from someone who is employed by the corporate media who is probably feeling just a bit threatened by Citizen journalists.
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Oh, I think it is like comparing apples to onions. First of all, CJs are less "weighted" than MSM.
Sue is a prime example of that in her fantastic political coverage from the "other side" of the fence. You cannot find that in MSM which limping on the side of pro-obama.
CJs are biased in their own right as far as WHAT they choose to report but they aren't any more biased than a MSM reporter in an opinionated editorial...come on!
CJs are really freelance writers who enjoy what they do - write - and have fun with it. No real financial gain from it and no MSM recognition. Ats fun, its love. Its not about being ON TOP. A different angle totally.
They have time to dig a bit more and find what floats their boat - not what the MSM tells them float the boat with! Sure, there are still checks and balances but the whole thing is the rules are a bit different.
I just cannot see a clean comparison between the two. MSM is totally biased, catering to the extreme liberal point of view in every aspect of the word and canning those who do not cower down to that belief. CJs are freedom writers who are loved for their beliefs and coverage of what "gets them hot".
You surely don't see Penis Cuisine in MSM making the top of the list! But a CJ will find anything with a tallywacker, a streaker, illegal immigration, the other side of scandal and just neat stuff.
I like apples, not onions. CJs have made me like news. I never even watched the news before. .
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@■ Nikki Weingartner
I like apples, not onions. CJs have made me like news. I never even watched the news before. .
That is amazing Nikki. If you never paid much attention to news before what drew you to DigitalJournal.com when it's all news? -
@■ Chris Hogg
That is amazing Nikki. If you never paid much attention to news before what drew you to DigitalJournal.com when it's all news?
Odd story really...after Christmas, I registered on a website called Big Paws Only (about dogs) and it was my first website ever. Well, in one of the threads, there was a discussion (don't remember now) but I googled and got a hit on DJ......and I LOVED the site. I loved the interaction (exception of a few minor attacks on me initially but I had never been in the web world before so didn't really know how to handle personal attacks).
Mrs. Picasso is the one who nudged me into writing. :o)
Here I am. -
I too never really got into news all that much...I knew roughly what was going locally and worldwide, but not to the depth that I do now. Before DJ...I hated anything to do with politics, but that is probably because I didn't really KNOW about how things worked. Now...although not actively involved in many of the conversations going on in the political reports, I have learned a lot and that's made me see how important it is all to ME. Without CJs like Susan, Chris V., Can Tran and everyone else that does report on politics...I'd still have blinders on!!!
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One thing Cynthia always said since joining DJ was that she got a wider perspective of world news and that her local media was not delivering much of anything beyond news from her home area or U.S.-centered political coverage. To what extend do you all feel you have learned about the world; Canada, the UK, Australia, Asia, Europe, etc? Do you (Americans) enjoy that aspect or do you seek out U.S.-only news?
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@■ Chris Hogg
One thing Cynthia always said since joining DJ was that she got a wider perspective of world news and that her local media was not delivering much of anything beyond news from her home area or U.S.-centered political coverage. To what extend do you all feel you have learned about the world; Canada, the UK, Australia, Asia, Europe, etc? Do you enjoy that aspect or do you seek out U.S.-only news?
Good question, Chris! I know that I have learned so much more than what I would have just sticking to local or MSM for my news. I never knew about how things were in Canada, the UK, Africa, etc...it's information that is excluded by local media sources, in favor of things that are BIG news locally/nationally/world-wide.
Now, I know that I feel very well-rounded in my perspective of news events...and that means a lot to me! I'm a sponge that's always wanting to know more, more, more and DJ does that very well!!! -
I have to say I usually read the news about the United States, not because I am not interested in other countries, but because there is just so much going on here and that is what I need to stay on top of first and foremost.
After that I love reading peices abotu Canada, Australia, and the news peices we are getting about India are really neat.
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CJ's are being quoted by the MSM now, many examples can be found. CJ's are being asked to comment on pieces that the MSM is writing about and bloggers are being linked in places like Reuters, Suntimes, Frontpage, Breitbart...etc, the lists go on and on. I agree with the person that said some in the MSM are feeling the pressure because regular people can now get their words heard by thousands at a time and the MSM can no longer get away with hiding certain aspects of the news from the general public.
CJ's also provide something the MSM rarely does and that is links to their sources, links to statistical data and the ability to verify and to show WHY certain opinions have been concluded by the writer.
CJ's have come farther than many understand yet and we have a long way to still go.
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@■ Chris Hogg
One thing Cynthia always said since joining DJ was that she got a wider perspective of world news and that her local media was not delivering much of anything beyond news from her home area or U.S.-centered political coverage. To what extend do you all feel you have learned about the world; Canada, the UK, Australia, Asia, Europe, etc? Do you (Americans) enjoy that aspect or do you seek out U.S.-only news? Me, personally - I give it equal weight as far as reading. As an American who has spent time abroad, I find personal offense in the biased coverage I saw overseas and then returning to the states.
Therefore now that I am looking at the news, I read it all. However, I don't like sports so I don't read sports news no matter where (except olympic stuff).
In fact, I probably read more about other countries before my own if possible because it gives me a better understanding, especially if the writer has a first hand perspective in some form or fashion. I love the differences in Canada and US (ie...the merger in satellite radio or text msg fees) and how things affect us differently.
UK news always piques my interest because I lived there for several years so I feel it.
American news can be humdrum with the same stuff over and over - same "shite" different pot, so to speak.
I really enjoy the worldly perspective DJ gives upfront - I don't have to click on "world" news as if I were on CNN or one of those sites. -
Good one, Chris.
I guess you could say when the Lilliputians cast their first lines over Gulliver, it didn't look like much then either.
Or you could take the Piranha view. -
Honestly, I don't think the average internet reader makes any distinction between the two as long as the writing is done well enough to establish the author's credibility. If the quality of the writing is poor, it turns people off and destroys your credibility as a journalist.Readers have called me called the "established mainstream media" more than a dozen times since I started participating in citizen journalism just a couple fo months ago.
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CJ's don't have to worry about their career going down the toilet or having to tip toe around trying to keep the PC quacks and Lawyers off their backs and any other manner of Look At Me I'm Special organization nuts from protesting on another networks station or on their front door. =D
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