SOCIAL
MEDIA AND ITS IMPACT ON THE QUALITY OF NEWS AND INFORMATION
This week’s Social Media study
topic focused on Social Media and Traditional Media. I found this topic to be the most interesting
so far; informative and thought provoking.
The concept of “Citizen Journalism” is not new but I now have a better
understanding of what it means and its impact on the traditional world of
newspaper reporting. For a brief and
to-the point description of “Citizen Journalist”, check out this YouTube short
by Professor Jay Rosen, New York University (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcYSmRZuep4).
Canadians have enjoyed the freedom to
choose their source for news, but are now able to become an active participant
in the process as a Citizen Journalist.
And we are no longer limited to the written word. With the use of cell phones/camera phones,
people are able to record and comment on events as they happen, becoming a Cell
Journalist. Our participation isn’t
restricted to reporting, but we can also act as editors and publishers through
a variety of tools, groups and websites.
Daily we see examples of the role
of the Citizen Journalist on TV news programs, YouTube, blogs and sites such as
nowpublic.com. We have become accustomed
to viewing subway bombings from the subway itself; being in the center of a
hurricane; watching the military attack during the Arab Spring; and the raising
of world-wide outrage after the Taliban shooting of a 14-year old girl. Much good has come from this increased public
awareness, but at the same time I am concerned about the ethics and accountability
of this type of reporting. And the
continuous barrage of images of horror.
Mark Twain said it well in his comment about American journalism:
"Necessarily we are all fond
of murders, scandals, swindles, robberies, explosions, collisions, and all such
things, when we know the people, and when they are neighbors and friends, but
when they are strangers we do not get any great pleasure out of them, as a
rule. Now the trouble with an American paper is that it has no discrimination;
it rakes the whole earth for blood and garbage, and the result is that you are
daily overfed and suffer a surfeit. "
We are accustomed to believing that journalists provide
accurate information to the public and are accountable for that accuracy. After all, news stories have been known to
make or break reputations, cause panic, influence public policy and affect
economic stability. Accurate and fair
reporting is, as a result, a considerable responsibility. But who is JQ Public responsible to? Through my studies I have learned that many
of the new sites disseminating information provided by Citizen Journalists are
rating contributors, creating rigor in the content they are presenting. As an individual develops a following and a
reputation their work may be included in postings from more traditional sources,
e.g. New York Times, and they may even be invited to act as an editor. Group blogs such as Huffington Post have been
created to further accuracy and accountability.
Fortunately I am not the only person concerned with the
question of ethics. Many articles have
been written and in April 2010 the University of Wisconsin – Madison’s Center
for Journalism Ethics and School of Journalism and Mass Communication hosted a
conference for “New Journalism – New Ethics”.
This gives me hope that individuals who take their role as reporter
seriously, will consider the impact of the information they are publishing, and
the ethics involved.
On a lighter note, I was pleased
to see the video clip promoting “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel
Society”. If you haven’t had the
opportunity of reading this book, do so now.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and as the author mentioned, began to see
the various characters as friends and couldn’t wait to see what happened to
them next.
This clip also got me to thinking
of how it would be possible to undertake a similar project today. First I would have to identify a subject or
event that would appeal to an audience and request people, through a blog, to
submit their thoughts or experiences on the topic. I would then be acting in the role of an
editor in assembling this information into a coherent and interesting
format. Hmm …. food for thought.
Recommended Readings:
http://ethics.journalism.wisc.edu/ Center for Journalism Ethics, School of
Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin – Madison, 2010
Conference: New Journalism – New Ethics
(April 20, 2010)
Citizen Journalism Needs a Dose of Journalistic
Ethics After Sandy, Tyler Mahoney, The Huffington Post, November 6, 2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tyler-mahoney/hurricane-sandy-citizen-journalism_b_2082596.html
No comments:
Post a Comment