The Power Of A Person: The Need For Citizen Journalism

Opinions run our world. And your opinion may help run it a little differently. We explore why we need citizen journalism in the modern age.

What is Citizen Journalism?

Citizen journalism refers to reporting news and information by individuals who are not professional journalists. These are everyday people who live across the UK and come from many different walks of life. With the rise of social media and digital platforms, citizen journalism has become an increasingly influential force in the modern media landscape with information being spread across borders instantly and opinions being shared between people who have never met before. More and more, people are turning to social media platforms to get their news and along with this, more and more people are using these platforms to tell people about news and events, talk about important topics and share what they think.

Why Is Citizen Journalism Important?

Citizen journalism allows for a 'democratisation' of the news and media, with everyday people being able to share news stories from across different regions, countries or even across the globe taking power away from traditional media outlets. This is important for multiple reasons as it not only allows for an increase in the diversity of topics covered with many traditional news outlets neglecting to cover certain news stories due to political, economic or social reasons, but also can make news more accessible for people. The ability to find information about different events through a click on your home screen is understated in its power and represents a drastic change from traditional news sources.

People across the world have the ability to share their unique experiences and viewpoints on a variety of different things which can allow us to gain a larger perspective of different world events. A notable recent example of this is the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 with citizen journalism being essential for spreading news and information especially as many news outlets failed to share accurate coverage of these events. From protests to sit-ins to petitions and more, real differences have happened because of the power of people using the tools they have to share information that might not have been brought to light.

Across the world protests sparked change with many being organised through informal social media group chats and forums. (Image credit: Thomas Allsop via Unsplash)

In 2020, a new organisation was founded focusing on the power of citizen journalism. The Bylines Network is made up of 10 regional online news outlets which all specialise in citizen journalism. The organisation encourages local people to write about what's happening in their region and whilst they do have a set of standards and requirements for their writers, they welcome a diverse set of writing styles, topics and author backgrounds.

"Our aim is to publish well-written, fact-based articles and opinion pieces on subjects that are of interest to people in our area and beyond. In doing so, we seek to demonstrate democracy in action by giving a voice to local people and holding our elected representatives to account. This is made possible by our independence – both from government control and from the influence of corporate interests." - Bylines Network via bylinesnetwork.co.uk

Why Caution Is Still Needed

While citizen journalism is a good thing overall, it can cause some issues especially when looking at the truthfulness and accuracy of some online sources. The ability to simply send a message to the world on social media or record a video can make it easy to spread misinformation. Many people who act as 'citizen journalists' and spread misinformation do it unknowingly or as a result of poor research however, a few bad actors can use the accessibility of social media to spread misinformation and potentially cause serious harm.

Anti-vaxxers can be an example of this with many leaders in social groups and organisations utilising social media to spread unfounded and in many cases completely untrue stories about vaccinations as well as encouraging conspiracy theories. People can also use real, scientific studies and use it as evidence to support their narrative by twisting or cherry-picking details.

Many conspiracy theories and misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent vaccinations created hesitancy for some which may have causes major damage to the health of individuals and wider communities. (Image credit: Roger Starnes Sr via Unsplash)

Because of these reasons, it is still essential that mainstream media outlets keep covering news stories as they are less likely to misrepresent stories to a large extent due to many codes of conduct, ethical guidelines and press standards organisations. Large news organisations such as the BBC, The Guardian, Al Jazeera and Associated Press can present news in a potentially less biased or problematic way meaning that misinformation is not spread. A recent issue is people who use these social media relying solely on them for news meaning that fake news can quickly spiral and be shared potentially meaning people are forming opinions based on incorrect news.

The Sparrow and Citizen Journalism.

The Sparrow was built on the idea of citizen journalism. Like the Bylines Network, we want to provide people the opportunity to share their ideas on a platform where people will listen. We want to give young people the ability to say what's on their mind or tell others about issues that are important to them. The Sparrow is committed to allowing more people to provide their unique and diverse opinions. If you are interested in joining us please contact us here or message us on one of our social platforms. We want to hear your ideas, stories or thoughts.

Final Notes

Citizen journalism is an essential part of our modern society with it allowing more people to read and share news faster than ever and without the input of traditional news outlets potentially meaning things are reported differently. However, it is important that there is balance both from a regulatory side and a consumer habits side. Governments need to figure out ways to ensure that information that is factually correct and not misleading is able to be shared on social media unimpeded whilst also slowing the spread of misinformation. It is also partially on the reader to make sure that they don't read their news from one place and that they look at a whole range of perspectives from different providers. Overall, citizen journalism is important, after all, it's what this website is about.