"Citizen Journalism" is essentially the idea of average everyday people taking the media into their own hands. It is the act of people researching, reporting, and broadcasting their own news. This is a very ironic concept because the professional media normally regulates the news that the public can view. With Citizen Journalism, the public are the ones who choose what news should be viewed. It is a very interesting concept because unlike professional media, it for the most part is not censored. So citizens may broadcast whatever they want no matter how controversial a topic, they can bring it to the attention of other citizens around the globe. This is especially true with the technology that is available today, it is very easy to record live events in real time and with social networks such as "Facebook" and video uploading sites such as "You Tube" news can be uploaded and distributed to thousands of people in seconds.
The only problem with "Citizen Journalism" is that many can question the authenticity of a report. This also goes back to the great advancements in technology that are available. It is very easy to make a fake report that can be blown out of proportion. One example is the "LonelyGirl15" video. In this video, the creator hired an actress to record in front of a video camera information that proved to be false. Another example can be seen in the Neda video. Although the video of her death looks extremely real, it could have been faked in the same way. With the extremey high speed at which this news can be distributed, distributing fake broadcasts can end up being a disaster.
Works Cited
Neda Agha Soltan Killing Scene. Published by hamedfrt. YouTube: 2009. Film.
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