The "Citizen" in Journalism 2.0

Is the phenomenon of Citizen Journalism over hyped? Is it commonly mis-understood? What role does CJ actually play in today's journalism?


Space for good journalism and journalists still exists (Dorothea Lange, 1936)

For some time now, we have been seeking to train young citizens (from schools, colleges and young adults) in simple techniques of telling stories through digital means, through the GoCreat project. One of our objectives is to involve communities to create local content "from their points of view".

These experiments, in keeping with my own interests in community-based/alternative media, have been quite revealing. What we commonly found is that participants are extremely excited to learn the simple techniques and create their own digital stories. Enthusiasm levels are high during the workshops. But once the workshop is over, to expect them to keep at it, seems to be a big ask. For instance, we encouraged students from the Goa University to start a common blog. It was expected the blog would become a space where students would be able to recount experiences from their perspective. That experiment lasted but a couple of months.

Citizens in Citizen Journalism. A Myth?

This led me to pose the query "Are citizens actually interested in citizen journalism?" Here are responses I received via Twitter:
@camerawala: in demotix I have found many who r freelance journalists/PJs in India to join as contributors. Is it a degradation of status?
@lilliangoa: In a place like Goa, with a comperatively high educational level, I should think yes.
Then again, @camerawala says: I feel a very peculiar pattern from northern to southern part of the world. In Hufpost I see some true citizens as journos

Going by the buzz caused by citizen journalism (CJ), it would appear 'traditional' journalists need fear for their jobs. But I don't think so. As @camerawala says, in India, it seems journalists are themselves contributors to CJ sites.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Citizens in Journalism

Understanding why this is the case could lead us to the role citizens can play in today's journalism - Journalism 2.0

Take the case of Hari. Hari is a banking executive living in the big city. Like the rest of us, Hari, along with his wife, needs to "consume" through the day - food, drink, clothing, gas, entertainment, news... It certainly is not possible for Hari to produce everything he consumes. He buys his food from the market, goes to the gas station to fill up the tank and together with his wife, goes to the movies on weekends, to wind down. Similarly, Hari goes to an outlet (a mix of online, print and TV) for his news. The reason is simple. Hari has specialised skills and is building a career around those skills. He does not have the time or inclination to pursue news production, just as he has no time or inclination to produce his own food, gas or other consumables. There are specialists who do that. So Hari can concentrate on his own specialities.

So, what is the role of citizens in journalism/community media?

One obvious answer is "spot news" – events as they happen. Hari, for instance, may be on his way home from work and caught in a traffic jam. He whips out his smart phone, records a few minutes of the chaos from his perspective and uploads it to his blog. This aspect of CJ is borne out well by events like the Mumbai attacks, the London bombings, the Tsunami, blasts, accidents, protests, etc. These events show the value of CJ in covering spot news events. No news organisation can ever compare to the growing network of ordinary citizens armed with mobile phone cameras, caught in the middle of the 'action'.


Pic: Helen Penjam via flickr used under Attribution License

This is where CJ excels and is a powerful force. But what of areas such as tracking the functioning of the local governing body? Or the local police? Or corruption in the local public school? What about tracking the garbage as it goes through the system, to plug loopholes therein? This requires a level of commitment and perseverance and yes, a great deal of field work (i.e. leg work) and strong story-telling skills. Can this be expected of citizens, otherwise involved in careers of their own?

In Goa, we recently went through a mass movement of citizens against the regional plan and Special Economic Zones (SEZs). The issue was of rampant, illegal construction and development favouring the rich builder lobbies. This issue could draw out ordinary citizens onto the streets in peaceful protest. This is good. This is democracy. But can this citizen interest be sustained to create a continuing mass movement of vigilant citizens? Experience from this movement suggests otherwise. Since most citizens have jobs/careers they simply don't have the time.

Further, and perhaps more importantly, they lack the story-telling skills to convert activism to journalism. Some months ago, together with Video Volunteers, we organised a workshop on video blogging for community activists who were part of the mass movement in Goa. What we soon realised however, is that these activists feel the demands of story-telling - text or visual, is out of their league. As one activist said to me, “We can lead a fight against illegal development. But we'd rather have others produce the stories for us.”

Value of Citizens in Journalism

The point we learn from this is, the community media model that depends exclusively on citizens to produce and share their own stories may be fraught with pot holes.

Journalism is about 'good' storytelling. Stories that draw readers/viewers in. Stories that need a great deal of leg-work, time and perseverance. And above all, stories that are not fabricated. Can all this be accomplished by citizens who have careers/jobs to attend to? We have people specialising in medicine, law, farming, computer hardware repairs, electrical work... Is journalism any different?

But of course citizens do add value to journalism. Newspapers are floundering because they are still stuck in the old world. That's the cause of their problems. Not the recession as they would like us to believe. Nor is it due to citizen journalists. The journalist and journalism itself certainly isn't going away. But journalists need to move away from a "holier-than-thou" attitude. An attitude that suggests they know what's good for the rest of the community. Rather than feeling they are the 'voice' of the community, journalists need to tell their stories in the community's own voice. During a recent conversation I had with a senior editor of a daily newspaper, he made a statement: "Our paper enlightens the people". I was aghast. It is this all-knowing attitude that is going to be the death of newspapers.

Today, we do not like to be "sermonised". That's why the pulpit is not a big draw! We want a level field. No one wants to be talked down to. Taking this cue, journalists must move towards a willingness to work with the communities they represent, co-authoring content with citizens. The activist in our video blogging workshop had a lot of good material. All it takes is for a good journalist to work with him to produce his story.

Jay Rosen, press critic, writer, professor of journalism at New York University and strong supporter of citizen journalism, writes, “the best approach is to have no orthodoxy and to support very traditional investigative reporting by paid pros who are good at it, as well as teams of pros and amateurs, students working with masters of the craft, crowdsourced investigations, and perhaps other methods.”

Yes there is a role for citizens. It is for trained journalists to delve into the voice of the community and tell their stories in the community's voice. That looks to be the way forward in Journalism 2.0.

In my quest towards community media alternatives, I am working on possible models for this region. In my next piece, I will share my thoughts on a new-media platform in an inclusive age. As always, do send me your feedback/comments that will be invaluable in taking these experiments forward.