NDM News: Citizen journalism and hyper-reality

Citizen journalism and UGC (user-generated content)

1) Read the article from Media Magazine: The Rise and Rise of UGC (Dec   2009). Use our Media Magazine archive, click on MM30 and go to page 55.

2) Create a blogpost where you make notes from the article under the following headings: 

• examples

; big institution created the news and broadcasted it to passive and receptive dunce - now new technology mean that the audience are no longer passive receivers of news - audience have become users - & users have become publishers. 

; The event was filmed by an onlooker from his apartment window - home video then broadcasted on prime mews and became an internation media sensation ~ UGC example..

; After the footage came out - there were 6 days of roits; 53 people died & around 4,000 people were injured. 

; Citizen journalists have come to the forefront - UGC plays a huge role in the media. 

; Many news originations include formatted of participation: message braids, chat rooms, Q&A, polls, have your says, and blogs with comments enabled. 

; Social media networking sites are build around UGC - people also turn to UGC sites to access news. 

; Asian Tsumani on December 26th 2004 - another major UGC

; & London bombing on July 5th 2005 - another opportunity for citizen journalist to influence the mainstream news 

; Users took to twitter and Flickr with the Mumbai bombings 

• theory (audience reception etc.)

- the change in the landscape of the news means that forums who have little access to self-representation before such as; youth groups, low income groups, and various minority groups may, through citizen journalism, begin to they have a voice too. 

• benefits to institutions 

- Institutions are able to get raw footage from audiences and don't actually have to go to the place themselves to film it themselves. - this allows the footage to be realistic and convincing to the viewers. 

• benefits to audience 

- It allows the audiences to believe that they have a voice and it shown through their UGC content shown on tv or online. 

- Other audiences are able to connect with the story because they see if from another audiences point of view and not the way the media is wanting to show.

• wider issues and debates 

- fewer and fewer permanent trained staff at news organisation, leaving a smaller core staff who will manage and process UGC from citizen journalists. 

- If there will be fewer jobs for trained journalists, will there also be less profit for big institutions? 

• SHEP; 

- Social : Social media sites are build around UGC - Bebo, MySpace, Youtube & Facebook. People also turn to UGC sites to access news: Wikipedia news, Google news and Youtube. 

- Historical : Big institutions created the news and broadcast it to a variously passive and receptive audiences. First effects of the new technology was felt on 1991 with the incident with Rodny King. 

- Economical :  fewer jobs for trained journalists, will there also be less profit for big institutions?  

- Political : - 

3) What is meant by the term ‘citizen journalist’?

When "ordinary people" generate the news by themselves through the use of technology. 

4) What was one of the first examples of news being generated by ‘ordinary people’?
A home-video footage caught of  4 LA police officers catching Rodney King; an African American after a high speed case. The police officers surrounded, tasered and beat him with clubs. This was then broadcasted on prime time news and become an international media sensation, this also focused for complaints about police racism towards African American.

5) List some of the formats for participation that are now offered by news organisations.
Many news originations include formatted of participation:
 - message braids
 - chat rooms, 
 - Q&A,
 - polls,
 - have your says, 
 - blogs with comments enabled. 

6) What is one of the main differences between professionally shot footage and that taken first-hand (UGC)?
Professionally shot footage can have much better quality and visuals and possibly better news conveyors for it be better chances of it being shown to the wider audiences on tv or online. Whilst UGC would seem more real and realistic through the format/layout it is shown in, it can have much more movement and emotional impact.

7) What is a gatekeeper?
A gatekeeper is someone or people which go through a process through information which is 'filtered' so it right to be published or broadcasted for the viewers. 

8) How has the role of a gatekeeper changed?
Gatekeeper role has changed because audience don't have to send their story on the news for the story to be heard, audiences are using the social media and the internet in their advantage, this automatically allows the audiences to have control to what they send. However, if audience do send their UGC content to the news, news origination do have a choice if they air it or not. In addition, the way around gatekeepers is with independent media on the web - the blogosphere, provides an opportunity for independent, often minority niche views and news to reach a wide audience. 

9) What is one of the primary concerns held by journalists over the rise of UGC? 
 By having new technology mean that the audience are no longer passive receivers of news - audience have become users - & users have become publishers. This can cause an concern because changing the landscape of the news as they were the source of the otherwise little access to self representation but now micro areas on the internet allow for everyone of that group such as young teenagers, to come together there and represent themselves, they find through citizen journalists that they too have a voice. 

10) Offer your own opinion (critical autonomy) on the following:

What impact is new/digital media having on:

• news stories : News stories can attract and intrigue audiences in many different ways, for example, in news article there are pictures and videos and other conventions that allows audiences to see news in a different way possibly, this could be possibly done to distract audiences to notice if the news is legitimate or not. By having so many conventions on news, it can be a way that audiences are making their own views and opinions about the stories that are shown and on news itself.
• the news agenda (the choice of stories that make up the news) : Visuals to a story is very important, it can either allow audiences to  understand the story much better or it be a distraction to audiences from the news story. 
• the role of professionals in news : Since new and digital media are taking over the tradition media it could possibly be a risk for professionals in news. This is because audience do realise and acknowledge their power they have with UGC and what effect or impact it has on news but on the empowerment on audiences generally. In the early years, news was being broadcasted to passive and receptive audiences, but now with the technology, audiences themselves have become users and the users have become publishers can cause a problem and be a danger to the professionals in news as in the future they may be a major decline in them.