Reflections on Citizen Journalism

10 days ago I was stuck in the protests on Oxford Street and proceeded to capture the event using my mobile to tweet and record the event, blogging about it afterwards and disseminating my findings by email & social media. 

This reminded me of discussions about citizen journalism when I studied to be a journalist at the University of Sheffield.  Now much has been written about citzen journalism and there's even a good wikipedia summarising many of the debates.  Now the 2 of the problems with citizen journalism are obvious: skills (whether someone is trained to report) and editorial rigour (anyone can blog, that doesn't necessarily make it fair/balanced journalism). 

Now unlike many 'citizen' journalists, I have actually trained formally as a journalist and I was conscious of one key limitation during my time on Oxford Street: the lack of editorial oversight available.  If I had been linked to a newsroom, more details on what was happening elsewhere could have been fed back to me and a wider context passed on which would have allowed me to focus on the important areas in what I was witnessing.  This would have helped with independence of the journalist (even if most journalists can self-regulate themselves) but more importantly told me where to focus my efforts. 

As part of the MA dissertation handbook, I remember reading that good academic research is like good journlism: thorough, verifiable and fairly presented.  As an academic researcher now, I have the framework (libraries, online publications, colleagues etc.) to fraw on to verify my work.  As a journalist you have the desk-based research, news wires and colleagues to rely on.  As a citizen journalist, I felt alone and could not guarantee I was getting it all - let alone getting it all right. 

Over the last few days I have been drawing on a reflection on objectivity I wrote as part of my MA dissertation.  In that work, I argued that objectivity is impossible but the rigours of trying to achieve it at least ensure work is balanced and possibly of a higher, more ethical standard.  Much to my tutor's disbelief I think the same is true for my PhD research: the ability to critically reflect on one's work is important.  Now as an MA and PhD student, that is part of what academia helps instil.  As a journalist, the profession and the editor help instil this.  As a citizen journalist, I lacked both the guidance of a team to deliver journalism that would work in the wider world. 

Elsewhere on this blog, I have discussed the changing media habits (look at my blog a few moments before the protests for my first thoughts): there is a clear 2 tier news system with an 'official stream' (made up of journalists & mainstream media) for hard facts & comment and an 'unofficial stream' (made up of citizen journalists & commentators) for analysis.  Now this has always existed - look at any historical event and the official media has always been challenged; some would argue that the pamphlets of the 1968 protests, for example, have become the blogs of today. 

However, in a modern media world, there is a need to ensure wider media education so that people can assess and access all types of media.  Not all forms are equal and should be given the same credance.  And that includes my report from Oxford Street.  My report lacks the journalistic rigour that official media would give it - even though I would vouch for its accuracy. 

On Saturday's 'Today' programme, there was a discussion over whether blogging is dead and what media will take things forward.  This would leave citizen journalists looking either out of a job or looking for a new way forward.  But in age where media seems all dominating, though the format may change, there is still a need for citizen journalists to be there. 

So for all my faults on Oxford Street, I come to the same conclusion about my citizen journalism as I did for my MA & PhD and my professional journalism: that trying to follow the research & reporting protocols of the 'trade' may not result in a perfect product but it at least means a story gets out there.