my presentation for citizen journalism:) there are heaps of links here, hope you like it.

1. MDIA5003 online and
mobile media
Citizen journalism in a
mass-communication
era
Sophie Li (Wei Li)
Z3387727

2.  On7th July, Thursday, 2005, four suicide
bombers struck in central London, killing
52 people and injuring more than 770.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuhBd
Hc8Nqs

3. At the same time
 Among the first to break the news
 Created BBC’s reporters’ log: London explosion
 Created BBC London explosion: your accounts site
 Gathered insights from readers and bloggers
 Opened news blogs for readers to post stories
 Phonecam snapshot uploaded to moblog.co.uk and www.flickr.com
 Photos were tagged by words like ‘explosion’, ‘bombs’ and ‘London’ to make
them more relevant on Flickr

5. Landmark effect
 Before London bomb attack, citizen
journalism was an idea, after London, it
had arrived. (Rob O'Neill, The Age, July 11
2005)
A considerable number of the most
newsworthy images were taken by
Londoners who happened to be in the
wrong place at the right time.

6. Mass self-communication
 What it is?
- The convergence of the horizontal networks of
interactive communication between citizens and
mass media, which is made possible by the
diffusion of the Internet, mobile and digital media.
 What’s about it?
- Network of ordinary digital citizens
- User-generated content(UGC), self-directed
emission, self-selected reception
- Interactive space for plural perspectives
- Local sources and its international engagement

7. Citizen journalism
 what it is ?
- spontaneous actions of ordinary people who
are compelled to adopt the role of journalists
 What is about it?
- inside-out, bottom up
- Bear witness, counter-discourse to mainstream
media or fact-check
- Restricted to online news and mostly used as
a complementary source

8. Discussion
 Pros:
1. People‟s platform and real-time dialogue
2. Instant newsgathering
3. Personalized dimensions
4. Connectivity and public empowerment
5. New stage of the oldest struggle in humankinds – the struggle to free our minds.
 Cons:
1. Authenticity, objectivity and quality of amateur materials
2. „SNAPARAZZI‟ and its moral concerns
Definition: Citizen journalists (passers-by) who are witness to a newsworthy event and
capture it as a photograph or on video.
‘We have moved well beyond Andy Warhol’s prediction … On the web, everyone can be
famous for 15 people – or to 500,000.’
‘We have entered an era in which the most sought-after attribute a person can possess is
broad appeal, which encourages some people to go to extraordinary lengths to attract the
public spotlight. ’
- THE BIG MO

9. Activity
 Which one of the citizen journalism websites have you visited
before?
1. CNN Ireport
2. WIKINEWS
3. NOWPUBLIC
4. Reporters without borders
Please browse ANY OF THE TWO citizen journalism websites and make
comparisons in terms of:
 Interactivity
 user-friendliness
 multimedia
 self-regulation policy
 focused areas

10. Censorship tells the wrong story
THE VOICE CAMPAIGN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx48zKeJxlQ&feature=player_e
mbedded

11. Reference
 Allan, S. (2007). "Citizen Journalism and the Rise of “Mass Self-Communication”: Reporting
the London Bombings." Global Media Journal(1).
 Stuart Allan*a, P. S. a. C. C. (2007). "Bearing witness: citizen journalism and human rights
issues." Globalisation, Societies and Education 5(3): 373-389.
 YouTube (2007). "7/7 London bomb terrorist attack on bus." from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuhBdHc8Nqs.
 BBC (2005). "BBC NEWS: Have you say - London Explosion: Your accounts." from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/4659237.stm.
 BBC (2005). "BBC NEWS: Reporters' Log: London explosions." from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4659511.stm.
 Flickr (2005). "London Bombing." from www.flickr.com.
 Roeder, M. (2010). The Big Mo - Why Momentum Now Rules Our World.
Sydney, HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Limited