This document discusses the role of citizen journalism in reporting on human rights issues. It provides examples of how citizen journalists used blogs and websites to document human rights abuses during the 2004 South Asian tsunami, conflicts in northeast India, and the Palestinian occupation. Specifically, it describes how Palestinian bloggers created a platform for citizens to report on daily atrocities, and how the website Electronic Intifada publishes these "diaries" and stories. It also explains how the growth of the internet in India has enabled more citizen journalism through websites like Merinews that allow ordinary people to submit news reports. Finally, it provides the example of citizen blogs documenting protests in Manipur against human rights violations under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.

1. BEARING WITNESS: CITIZEN JOURNALISM AND
HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES
Authors: Stuart Allen, Prasun Sonwalkar and Cynthia
Carter
Presentation: Muhammad Sheharyar Rana

2. What is Citizen Journalism?

3. The
Answer
• When ordinary
citizens/people such as
ourselves, start
reporting/highlighting
informative issues faced by
the local masses
•When ordinary people
start performing the duties
of a news reporter
•When such duties are
performed they become
citizen journalists
•And the process that
involves these citizens
reporting informative news
stories is known as citizen
journalism.

4. The main theme of the article revolves around how
the concept and principle of citizen journalism has
paved way in everyday life, demonstrating its
effectiveness with regard to 3 situations:
 2004 South Asian Tsunami
 Human Rights abuses in India‟s north east
region
 Palestinian Crisis in Occupied Territories.

5. Palestinian Crisis in the Occupied
Territories. Impact of Citizen
Journalism.
 Bloggers creating a
platform for ordinary
Palestinians to give
an account of the
atrocities they have to
face in everyday life.
 Electronic Intifada (EI)
http://electronicintifad
a.net/blog

6. Diaries: Live from Palestine
 Part of the Citizen  Dream of Returning
Journalism section of Home
EI  Our Day Will Come
 Active since 2002 and (Soon)
has become a regular
feature.
 Highlights striking
updates and stories of
Palestinians under
military invasion.
 Citizen journalist
reports almost each
day.

7. Citizen Journalism in India
India‟s Widening
Media
Landscape.

8. The Internet: Essence of Citizen
Journalism in India
 With the ever increase
usage of internet in
India, citizen journalism
is on the rise.
 India‟s bloggers have
become more active
than ever and continue
to grow in number
talking on a range of
issues.
 Internet is giving
average ordinary
people a chance to
transmit information

9. www.merinews.com
 Established in 2006 – Activity: Compare and
India‟s website Contrast
dedicated to citizen
journalism.
How is merinews.com
 Over 50,000 citizen
journalists. different from a
professional news
 News by normal
people, not “journalists” web site such as
Headlines Today or
 Anyone who would like
CNN IBN?
to become a citizen
journalist can submit
their contributions on Tweet your findings to
merinews.com. #mdia5003

10. Human Rights Violations: reporting
online in India.
 Evolution of online media
helps students understand
the power of news media
(Beers 2006)
 Some regions and their
issues are being neglected
by mainstream politically
powerful media.
 Citizen Journalists highlight
these issues without bias
and fear of mainstream
media.
„Beers, D (2006), „The public sphere
and online, independent
journalism‟, Canadian Journal of
Education / Revue canadienne de
l'éducation, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 109-130.

11. Irom Sharmila
Chanu
 Poet from Manipur who
protested against the
AFSPA.
 Manipur part of the seven
states that have been in
some form of conflict or
the other since
independence.
 Irom decides to “fast unto
death” as form of protest.
 Her efforts commented
and reported by many
citizens in blogs on
Manipur websites.
 Manipuronline.com

12. Two Online Articles of Interest
 Citizen Journalism  Future of Citizen
Sucks Journalism?