“‘We are all journalists now’ is a phrase sometimes heard [...] Is this correct? Is it enough to have a mobile phone camera and an internet connection to be a journalist?” (Örnebring 2013: 39)
When the earthquake and the fifteen-metre hit the coast near Tokyo on 11 March 2011, it wasn't news reporters or professional journalists that were the first ones that were on the spot. The most useful footage of the horrible events was gathered by the citizens of Sendai, a city on the North East coast that had been struck by the tsunami. This footage was later used by several news agencies for their television news reports about the tsunami. Without knowing it, those people filming the tragic natural disaster had engaged in a kind of journalism that challenges traditional news gathering and media habits: citizen journalism. In the following part, I am going to give a definition of citizen journalism and explain the practises that are used. After that I am going to show how and to what extent it challenges traditional journalism.
Table of Contents
- Challenges Citizen Journalism Sets Traditional Journalism
- Citizen Journalism
- How Citizen Journalism Challenges Traditional Journalism
- Citizen Journalism in the Aftermath of the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan
- Citizen Journalism as an Alternative to Traditional Journalism
Objectives and Key Themes
This text explores the emergence and significance of citizen journalism and how it challenges traditional journalistic practices. The analysis focuses on the events following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, showcasing the role of citizen journalists in reporting and disseminating information.
- Definition and practices of citizen journalism
- Challenges posed by citizen journalism to traditional news gathering and media habits
- The role of technology in facilitating citizen journalism
- Advantages and limitations of citizen journalism in comparison to traditional journalism
- The impact of social media on citizen journalism and news dissemination
Chapter Summaries
The text begins by defining citizen journalism and outlining its key characteristics. It then explores how citizen journalism challenges traditional journalism, particularly in terms of access to information, speed of reporting, and the potential for alternative perspectives. The analysis uses the events following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan as a case study to demonstrate the power of citizen journalism in disseminating information and documenting events. The text further discusses the role of social media in facilitating citizen journalism and its impact on news dissemination.
Keywords
This text focuses on citizen journalism, traditional journalism, technology, social media, news gathering, and news dissemination, highlighting the relationship between these concepts and the challenges citizen journalism poses to established practices.
- Quote paper
- Alana Speer (Author), 2013, Challenges Citizen Journalism Sets Traditional Journalism, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/281270
