Arrogant Big Media

Re: "We The Media: Rise of Citizen Journalism"
Dan Gillmore, OhmyNews (internews)

Arrogance of big media, yes. And they so project dominant or power groups that those marginalized become more marginalized.

In one local media, for example, you often see terms in print media like “Muslim bandits,” “Muslim thief,” “Muslim rapist.” Muslims then feel constrained to complain. Nowhere in media, they say, do you find terms like “Christian bandits,” “Christian thief,” “Christian rapist.” Why is it that when perpetrators are Christians, the adjective fails to act up?

Traditional media more than divide people. They compete to the point that they manufacture news even. No one knows which is true, and yet they thrive with all the advertisements around - which, in turn, do their part to function negatively towards a more helpless society. Kudos to Citizen Journalism!

We The Media: Rise of Citizen Journalism

Victory for Communication

Re: “Netizens Are Critical to Citizen Journalism”
Ronda Hauben from the U.S. (OhMyNews International)

I am also happy for having discovered the contribution of South Koreans in the field of communication. I am a communications specialist and so I look to the turn of events as victory for communication. It is something really that we have to take care of. Communication today is not becoming effective in the way we had expected it.

I think that we share the same excitement that OhMyNews is doing. I am also a netizen and I am doing my part in the same direction as OhMyNews. It is only that I center my efforts in the field of communication. I maintain my own blog to do this thing.

I am also doing my own writings here and there - guided by the principles of Citizen Journalism. Remember, I had only recently stumbled upon this concept a year ago, and I would back up its ideals.

Netizens Are Critical to Citizen Journalism

OhmyNews’ Version of Citizen Journalism

I had the opportunity to join a website where it says it was practicing Citizen Journalism. I didn’t understand what the term meant. Later, I discovered that professional journalists were working together with unschooled journalists which rather intrigued me. Then I happened to read of Steve Outing’s write-up of different levels of Citizen Journalism. As feedback to that Poynter Institute article, I read that the site where I joined claimed to be practicing a mix of two levels. Now, I had a name for what we were doing: Citizen Journalism.

I wrote an opinion piece in that site endorsing Citizen Journalism all the way. It was able to garner 53 recommends (minus 11 decommends) and 86 comments. The story stood there as top story for more than a week. As we discussed the CJ we were doing, I slowly believed that we were not doing it right - or faithfully, in terms of social responsibility.

First off, I tried to defend our site by saying CJ had many faces after I saw a screenshot of our writers’ site in OhmyNews printed side by side the photograph of George Bush. Using Altavista Bable Fish to translate the Korean language used, I got the impression that we were being critiqued. For what, I tried to decipher.

Not by the criticisms of OhmyNews on that site but by what slowly unfolded, eventually, I lost steam in my efforts to contribute my share. Initially, I got inspired by Indian writers doing their share as writers, just by photographs with social significance.

I found many news items there needing editing. Sure, it’s democracy at work if they refuse to be edited. One could also block another member from touching one’s work as in commenting or editing, although one could recommend or decommend one’s story by pressing on the arrows going up or down.

What disconcerted me is the practice of scoring. Sure, it can urge you to work harder although there can be no money involved, but the effect is strongly psychological. You just would not allow your name to be down there in the dumps. For a while, it was challenging, but eventually, one would find out there’s no logic in how the scores come about. Also, they tend to veer away from content. News is about content – not about scores.

But here come news links. Majority of supposed Citizen Journalists were merely pasting on news links from other sources. Yes, paste on news links! The second thing they mostly did was recommend news links of others, and presto! They got scores to their name.

Steve Outing said OhMyNews is popularly known for Citizen Journalism. I tried to scan the web and I found out the South Koreans were able to influence the Presidential elections in 2001 on account of Citizen Journalism espoused by OhMyNews.

Yes, there has to be success to measure in implementing Citizen Journalism.

Reading OhMyNews’ version of CJ makes me think it is the purist kind worth emulating.

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=8&no=292915&rel_no=1

Encountering Citizen Journalism

The first time I found myself in iTalknews.com I was entertaining other thoughts. I found myself mixing with would-be journalists who I doubted of their ability to write - just judging from the way they constructed their headlines. I said to myself, “Yuck! Why did I have to come here?"

Since there were buttons for editing options, I began correcting some outputs. I felt that by doing so, I was also contributing to some people's attempts at getting published. Most of these were captions of photographs from developing countries and they do have a lot to tell. I noticed that they knew how to project social implications just through these captions, especially the Indian writers. I am touched by most of them.

I found myself lamenting the fact that I cannot touch other people’s work for correction. While the site recognizes the liberty of one to edit other people’s work, it reserves the right of the writer to deny such editing.

I also found myself wanting to have something published that would normally never see print in my own country. I see that I am able to do it in iTalknews.com without fear of reprisal. From here, I began to realize the significance of citizen journalism.

Before I came to iTalk.com, however, I didn’t have a name for this practice. Mixing the work of unschooled journalists with those of professional writers was unheard of before. Until one day, I read of Poynter’s piece.

Steve Outing wrote about “The 11 Layers of Citizen Journalism” in Poynter Online. Poynter Institute is a school for journalists. In this article, Outing discussed models of this mixing practice being adopted by many news websites. I also happen to have come across the feedback of Liz Lee who said iTalk.com was “loosely following models #6 and #10, from Steve's article.” I began to check.

Steve Outing said Model #6 is the stand-alone citizen-journalism site, edited version. This is the news-oriented website that is “comprised entirely or nearly entirely of contributions from the community.”

Outing also said Model #10 is integrating citizen and pro- journalism under one roof. Outing described it as "a news website comprised of reports by professional journalists directly alongside submissions from everyday citizens."

From there, I began to understand the mixing, and am quite happy for this development in the field of journalism. I am not sure, however, how everybody views this practice. But, of course, why shouldn't every citizen be able to speak?

I support Citizen Journalism all the way. I am also with those who think that formal journalism has its strait-jacket becoming too tight for modern journalism.

And may I add: In a country where there are structures that do not permit the voice of some sectors, Citizen Journalism comes in handy – especially in cyberspace.

[World] Citizen Journalism: For Every Daring Write
http://www.italknews.com/view_story.php?menu=top&submenu=&sid=5201