The Impact of Citizen Journalism Across Media Platforms
Isabella Xenopoulos
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The earliest reference of journalistic product comes from Rome circa 59 B.C., when news was recorded in a circular called the Acta Diurna. This was published news that the government authorised and deemed as newsworthy for the public in events concerning Rome. The daily publication was enjoyed and hung strategically around the city for all to read. Traditional journalism is being the one – sided communication of journalists writing and the people consuming along with those journalists carrying the acquired skills and knowledge for the profession. Globally, we have made dramatic technological advancements since then but specifically – in suiting with this paper – we have drastically made developments in journalism.
The word journalism was originally applied to reportage on current events in printed form. This submontanely applied to newspapers then later branched to radio and television in the 30’s and 40’s. “In a survey then taken in 1940, 65% of respondents had stated that radio was their preferred source of news” (New York film Academy, 2015). This reference allows us to identify the indigenous stages of the new digital revolution in society which later encourages the form of the technological shift in journalism. A radio show in the early 20th century was the current, personalised model of news reporting which has a tremendous connection to the current model of personalisation in journalism today.
Through the evolution of technology, audience’s preference for personalisation and human connection during news telling has expanded. To evaluate ‘lightly’ on personalisation as there is a deeper analysis further in the paper; is to identify the evolutionary and successful fact of television broadcasting. The direct mode of address carries intimacy with audiences and encourages the desired emotional response given to the viewer – written and performed by the journalists. This advancement in technology greatly benefits journalists as direct intimacy encourages persuasion, empathy, and engagement into journalistic content.
“New media forms like the internet are elastic in their capacity to absorb other forms and practices” (Holt & Perren, 2009, p. 84) Through new developments and technological advancements, such as television broadcasting when it was fresh and current, has evolved the journalism industry to consume, expand upon and perfect different journalistic techniques and practices. This has significantly benefitted the industry as we now live in a many to many communications atmosphere – providing the opportunity for market niches. The societal evolution of new media has provided journalism with great access to these niches and therefore improved upon the techniques.
The technological advancement of radio and television progressed the journalistic practice and method in how news was ‘given’ to audiences in a new role called presenting. “Broadcast media is a branch of journalism that uses voice and images to pass information. Unlike print, broadcast focuses on the current issues. This is why most TV and radio scripts are written in the present tense. This is, of course, the exception of documentaries, features, screenplays, and similar items. The bottom line is, broadcast media is all about telling stories through images and voice. A camera is a primary tool in the industry. It enables the media personnel to create the stories and present them in a way that attracts the viewers' attention.” (Essay.biz, n.d.).
Broadcast media has developed into the most popular outlet for journalists, and it is omnipresent in contemporary society. In social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube – interactive users, significant news companies and citizen journalists showcase their work through moving image, expanding their engagement, reach, and proving the new advancements in technology have positive consequences and expansion to the current journalism industry.
As late international technologies emerged through time, the traditional journalism methods grew fearful of the rise in citizen journalism. Citizen journalism vastly growing in popularity along with the continuous advancements of social media struck to the acknowledgement and understanding of having to embrace and incorporate citizen journalism in mainstream news broadcasters. This is to maintain strength with the unstoppable online competition and retain audience figures.
Developments in digital technology have impacted methods by which journalism works across different media platforms which has caused a decline in traditional journalistic practices. A definitive indication towards the increase in digital technology, along with its popularity, is the infamous plunge in sales of handheld newspapers. This is the evidential conclusion of a globalised generational change forced into a new digital age thereby compelling the evolvement in journalistic methods to avoid obsolete. “41% of people say they access news online, inching it ahead of the number who do so through newsprint newspapers, at 40%.” (The Guardian, 2014). This article was written more than six years ago, and technology has continued to have an uninterrupted expansion.
“Since its inception in 1996, social media has managed to infiltrate half of the 7.7 billion people in the world. Social network platforms almost tripled their total user base in the last decade, from 970 million in 2010 to the number passing 3.81 billion users in 2020.” (Backlinko, 2021). Social media is a many to many sources of instant communications across the globe, anytime of day. This has positives and negatives regarding the journalism community - each point calculated on the individual’s bias. The build of emerging technologies i.e., social media, has granted opportunity and access to opinions, news, thoughts, views, and a dark underworld on demand like never- before. This opens the gateway of citizen journalists along with the potentially excessive obligatory appetite for ‘freedom of speech’.
“the internet as the key element of the new industries has attempted to herald the value of deregulation. These two concepts of freedom – an idea of something for nothing, and the idea of liberation from the past hierarchies.” (Holt & Perren, 2009, p. 83). Citizen journalists promote liberation and democracy through freedom of speech and complete independence. Anyone can share information within seconds to millions of people – particularly non - professional journalists who possess great impact on audiences by writing their news reports, experiences and bringing issues to agenda that would not traditionally be shared by mainstream news outlets. The relationship between mainstream traditional journalists with citizen journalists is one of complex nature.
The methods of conducting journalistic practices have changed due to technological developments. From recent society, we have evidenced this through the Coronavirus pandemic and witnessing how news broadcasters and journalists have created creditable content. Use of online platforms such as ‘Zoom’ to broadcast interviews and receive information from interviewees has protected mainstream news outlets from being discarded as the reports have been able to maintain a sense of professionalism while develop with the online community of new technologies. The new technology has significantly benefitted journalism and sustained it during the pandemic.
During this time, the online community of citizen journalism has flourished. “UK adults spent a quarter of their waking day online during lockdown - a record high, according to Ofcom.” (BBC News, 2020). This has distinctively increased the dependency on traditional journalists to citizen journalists and vice versa. They have a symbiotic relationship due to modern technologies and each carry importance within audiences. Regardless of the phenomenal increase in citizen journalists, mainstream news broadcasters are still considered the more creditable source. This is because citizen journalists do not require qualifications, accountability nor laws that they are obliged to follow unlike traditional journalism. “Andrew Marr, has dismissed bloggers as "inadequate, pimpled and single", and citizen journalism as the "spewings and rantings of very drunk people late at night".” (The Guardian, 2010).
As bloggers and citizen journalists can evidently be anyone with access to the internet, it holds high passage for fake news. Although this is a well – known consequence of the new development of technologies and platforms, it has not reduced the boundless candidacy of journalistic competition that mainstream broadcasters face in modern day society. Companies such as ITV, BBC and SKY are rivalling with each other as well as the inexhaustible population of each individual user on social media platforms being Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and so on.
The imperative adaptation mainstream news outlets sourced when entering the unstoppable force of the digital revolution was embracing parts of citizen journalism. This is shown in current mainstream practices during news reports. Many images shown on TV channels are from citizen journalists as well as broadsheet, tabloid and magazine products hiring citizen journalists to write feature articles for their brand. “The BBC's website has nearly 100 blogs and invites its readers to "have your say" on an enormous range of topics, from Westminster to the weather.” (The Guardian, 2010). This supports the evolution of a more citizen based journalistic landscape for the future and demonstrates a huge radical shift in the representation of what news telling used to be.
Many academics and journalists convey the opinion of citizen journalism to symbolise practice our right to freedom of speech and democracy. Social media is the dominating space for immediate and uncensored information – many bloggers and citizen journalists have taken action to become more transparent. With the looming stereotype of citizen journalists to be unprofessional, unethical, and improper, many have persisted in the industry to justify their experience and creditability as a journalist. “New technologies bring with them new opportunities but also uncharted, ethical, legal and commercial territory.” (Morrish, 2012, p. 3).
Stacey Dooley is one the most popular documentary makers commissioned by the BBC fronting powerful and hard-hitting content to the public. Dooley is one of the most successful, well known, and trusted citizen journalists in the UK which supports the idea that many citizen journalists will abide by fact checking and morals to support their business and public image. This is a calculated hypothesis as citizen journalists are under no restriction, accountability, or obligatory decree to do so.
Citizen journalism retains positives being the opportunity to offer the circulation of news in countries where mainstream media is limited. This also applies to small towns and villages with low economic energy to facilitate the modern usages of digital technology. The reliance of citizen journalism is high for the spread of information. Citizen journalism has strived in the digital ethos and due to the diverse varsity of audiences, “it offers a good amount of space for marginalized groups.” (Sociologygroup, n.d.).
With democracy, freedom of speech and the continuous varied empowerment movements formed from social media, citizen journalists involve the active newsgathering of regular citizens which encourages power to the people and distracts the public from authority. It encourages accountability, exposes corruption, documents abuse of power, offers alternative views and international current affairs. “Online there is a virtual cacophony of different opinions, perspectives, and ‘realities’ all vying for attention in the highly competitive environment of the world wide web” (Starkey, 2007, p. 46).
The main difference between citizen journalism and traditional journalism is defined in the journalistic practices. Citizen journalism is more conversational and as they are independent reporters, are likely to write about topics of interest to them. That means that the reports do not require a definitive ending along with heavy personalisation which can blur the scope of the news story with heavy bias. Traditional journalistic practices are in third person with a completed news report to bring to audiences. It is a vertical platform whereas citizen journalism is horizonal. The digital age is a threat to traditional journalism – especially in a liberal democracy which is why it is crucial for traditional media to embrace the new digital evolution. The Guardian (2021) highlighted that the majority of people use social media platforms as their primary source of information.
The basics of journalism draw attention to the fundamental differences of traditional vs citizen journalism. A traditional journalist has completed training and accomplished the knowledge of how to do specific duties/ practices while maintaining professionalism. Traditional methodical outlets include print, television, radio and now the internet. Their aim is to inform, educate, document, and interpret developmental changes as well as hold accountability. Traditional journalists work in third person and are recognised by the law meaning ethical and legal issues are abided by.
Citizen journalism holds a lack of training and orientation towards the standards of ethics and journalistic practices. They are not recognised by the law and the majority of work is in first person. Provided to inform the public whilst providing them the opportunity for reciprocate engagement while utilising the tools of modern technology and global distribution to publish their work at low costs and fact check in their own way. They are considered as democratic and a freelance writer, frequently reporting on current media issues.
“Trained or not, when disseminating news or any sort, one should always abide by personal ethics, even if not the professional ethics. One should always ask self that my action will not cause harm to any individual, intentionally or unintentionally.” (Marwafahes, 2016)
Working as a journalist in modern society has benefits due to the ever growing and developing lifestyle of digital technologies. Connecting with complimentary groups and beginning online community spaces is remarkably accessible and beneficial to the public’s mental health and entertainment. As a journalist, the market possibilities for article reach have become global and the benefits of digital technologies give subject -user interaction, allowing citizen journalist and news broadcasting companies to gain an improved perceptive of their target audience; potentially increasing their market share.
“the internet has not only changed the methods and purpose of journalism, but also people’s perceptions of news media.” (Journalism in the Digital Age, n.d.). The rise of digital technology has shifted the power balance of journalists and their audience as the internet has shaped a more self – conscious, educated generation in producers and consumers. This has altered the landscape of journalism and its traditional notions of methodology and practices. The perception of a news report can now be left open – ended, significantly more suggestive – even bias and extremely personalised as we are familiarised with blogger and vlogger content plastered across social platforms.
Personalised news has become the revolutionary remodelling as part of the new digital age and the growth of citizen journalism has compelled multi – billion-dollar broadcasting companies to do the same, subsequential to the demand in audiences. The internet has unlocked a fast pace, diverse and vast landscape that has put intense pressure on traditional media (Sky, BBC, ITV), to reshape their methods preventing viewers from leaving. The original one- size fits all approach to journalism and news broadcasting is not engaging to audiences based on the new ability to find niches in every subject possibly thought of. There are limitless uneducated experts with constant active, influential platforms that directly compete with traditional forms of news media.
The entrancing charm of personalised news which impacted the significant digital technological change in news channels began in 1997 through the platform ‘Ask Jeeves’. “Ask Jeeves constructed an avatar of a butler to represent the search engine” (Holt & Perren, 2009, p. 83). Not only does this signify personification of the search engine to work specifically for the user, but it also helped begin the alarming psychology of the private entity and consumption of the internet being an intimate, secret, almost exclusive communication gateway between the individual and the screen. Hence the current need, demand, addiction, and persistent exercise of personalisation for advertisement, news broadcasts and social media platforms.
To travel through history would present the days were “consumers didn’t get personalized recommendations based on their past purchases. Nor did they receive personalized recommendations for new music, movies, or TV shows based on what they’d already listened to and watched.” (blog.hubspot, 2014). Now consumers crave engagement as entertainment by personalisation. According to a study from the University of Texas (2008), there are two factors which attribute to the preference for personalisation: Information overload and the desire for control.
Having an online experience, service or platform tailored to a specific user enhances the emotional response of feeling in control. Although users are completely conscious of the online experience being shared globally, it does not prevent the addictive and complete engagement given from the user to the screen. Personalised experiences also reduce an individual’s perception of information overload by presenting a manageable layout and altered language techniques. Naturally, humans are enticed by content relevant and interesting to them. In modern day lifestyles, the overall public integrate home, private and work life with social media, making it difficult to differentiate between the two.
The significant shift in traditional journalistic practices has not just embraced the personalisation of news but has blurred the societal differentiation of the educated and uneducated by a term invented in the 1930’s: ‘Dumbing down’. “It seems as if every headline printed in newspapers or discussed on television today is riddled with sensationalism.” (The Beacon, 2019). The sensationalism of news stories is part of the ‘dumbing down’ in digital age society as mainstream TV channels and newspapers are selling potentially brainless reports with zero substance that audiences relish. Tabloid press is synonymous with sensationalised stories and although the National Union of Journalists code states for journalists to convey honesty, a use of language techniques to ‘persuade’ audiences to read an article is allowed. Citizen journalism has no boundaries and can sensationalise limitlessly.
The constant use of personalisation and sensationalism in today’s society is almost essential for journalists to engage an audience – regardless of the specific niche they are targeting. The advancements in media technology and global reach have changed the writing and presenting style for journalists interminably.
“A political journalist was once asked how he made stories on dry subjects exciting. Simple, he replied: “First we simplify and then we exaggerate.” (Independent, 2014). Throughout the history of journalism, stories have been amplified and occasionally allows the line between fact and opinion to be interpretable – evidently, through the expansion of social media, audiences and the ever-growing competition of citizen journalists, this simplification and exaggeration has expanded. Social media has algorithms that alter a user’s feed to suit their beliefs, political opinions and advertisements/news stories that would appeal to them. Making individuals narrow minded in their willingness to diverse with news and information creates a challenge and threat for all journalists to be ‘seen’.
Citizen journalism entertains an extensive component of diverse, niche news stories and entertainment articles which has abetted the expansion of the concept of social media dumbing down modern news. This is due to its blog like style and generic, almost suggestively careless writing techniques altered for the people, to the people. In that regard, citizen journalism has assisted the social media algorithms by providing content to suit such niches. In doing so has contrived traditional journalists and news broadcasters to alter their techniques to correspond with the vast competition of citizen journalists and social media algorithms. As stated before, sensationalism and personalisation are key components in practices for contemporary journalism.
“While the basic tenets of journalism will remain the same (honesty, fairness, accuracy), almost everything else will change: how our work reaches our audiences/readers; the tools we use to do our jobs; the nature of the relationship we have with the people who access our work, and who are competitors are.” (Nieman Reports, 2000). The roles of a traditional journalists have now changed. The brisk distribution of news and the desired driven rush by the public to get specific news articles for a definite purpose has evolved the publishing of news. The internet has provided a money saving service for the consumer to access the news they want and the journalist to publish with possibly zero costs.
The new developments in digital technology have presented the journalism industry with new ethical and legal challenges. Many journalists and bloggers want to expose powerful individuals, government bodies and businesses. As many would deem this as an act of public empowerment, it requires being accurate with the information publicised online and in compliance with a web of state and federal privacy laws. “Without the services of an in-house legal department to do a pre-publication review, and often without an entity as a shield, many assume enormous personal legal liability when they share controversial work. Dealing with defamation and privacy issues before a work is published, and having somewhere to turn when disputes arise can help make sure a project doesn’t die on the vine.” (New Media Rights, 2019)
In modern society, there has been a huge rise in independent journalists which means that there have been new implications set in to correctly work with independent contractors and employees. A contract sets the expectations for who will be credited, and amounts paid to which individuals. Other legal issues that have been made more prominent due to the internet include copyrighting, revealing confidential information, trademarking, and ambiguous content on social media. “The New Media Industrial Council represents the interests of the union's new media workers.” (nuj New media, n.d.) The new media sector of the UK’s National Union of Journalists was officially established in 2005 to support and provide advice for journalists working in online publishing or digital media.
Social media is communication through websites and online platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, used by an extensive measure of people to dispense information/ entertainment, develop social and professional contacts, and promote businesses. A predominant ethical issue surrounding social media is online bullying. Social media has only recently been regulated (offensive comments and fake news aimed to be removed) but has not prevented damage to users’ mental health. “an entirely new format for bullying or manipulation has arisen. In one famous news item in the online ethics age, grieving parents sought to bring charges against an adult woman for contributing to the suicide of a 13 year-old girl. According to news reports, the woman had befriended and then cut off contact with the girl through a social website under a presumed identity, purportedly to gain her trust and then hurt her feelings.” (Easy Tech Junkie, 2021)
“Freedom of expression and equality of opportunity are essential conditions for the functioning of the public sphere in society.” (Medium, 2019) The public sphere is a space in society where individuals group to freely debate and identify societal problems, and through discussion, influence political action. The 18th century secret ‘coffee houses’ had similar impact to government and therefore traditional journalism as it was highly regulated. The theory maintains similarities with the signifying underlying change being the circulating demand and powerful influence of anyone with access to the internet and an opinion to preach.
Low – ranking communities are now incredibly impactful, in consequence making some companies improve ethical precautions. Examples being Fair trade and no animal testing. Although this carries positives, negatives include a vast population with altering, passionate viewpoints allow for unregulated, dangerous movements. During 2021, aggressive protests against Coronavirus lockdowns, race and feminism were practiced globally with ignition from citizen journalism and spread rapidly through social networks. To be ‘politically correct’ is excessive and irrational as it has become impossible to avoid language or behaviours that offend a particular group of people.
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Traditional journalism has begrudgingly adapted to fit and compete with online networks providing us with citizen journalism to stay relevant and keep audience engagement. New technologies have altered the public sphere and the publics demand for news, personalisation, and sensationalism. The digital age has spurred traditional news broadcasters to create a further intimate connection with audiences while maintaining the expected professionalism from tradition to keep trust and a sense of authority. New technologies have forced news coverage to be constant and provide stories that would not have even been considered newsworthy decades ago. This urges the idea of the public gaining an infinite knowledge base from the internet – forcing news to be light-hearted. The opposite: News is more light-hearted due to the dumbing down of the public in consequence of social media impact.
Citizen journalism competes with traditional news as well as providing support. In an instant world, everyone with a camera and internet access is a journalist. Footage from Twitter is borrowed from news companies and shared on the ‘6 o’clock’ news.
Although citizen journalism has impacted the diversity and market share for traditional journalists, it has not affected the professionalism and therefore its reliability with the public. The public can differentiate between traditional and citizen journalist and values one predominantly for entertainment and the other for honest, genuine news coverage. Through the evolution of new technologies, traditional journalism understood they have to adapt to stay in competition. Many news companies have online social media platforms that many get news updates from.
As a future prediction, citizen journalism will continue to rise as its part of the irrepressible force of the internet which has become a necessity. The need and want for traditional journalism will always be present as it tailors to a sense of validity when the public consumes news. The two different types of journalism are merging together and will continue to be in order to create a deeper meaning and truth to news telling. Through the expansion of new media, they have evolved together and will continue to give news more value and depth.
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