The Internet and Citizen Journalism
Friday, October 9, 2009 by Jess
As discussed in a lecture a few weeks ago, the internet has opened up opportunities that allow citizens to become journalists, disseminating messages and news via internet tools such as social networking sites.
One example of this is the Iran Election of 2009, and the following protests and violence that sprung up, with Iranians turning to Twitter and YouTube to post their own eye-witness reports, photos and videos. This was particularly important because foreign media had been banned from reporting from the streets of Iran.
Using Twitter and YouTube to post information allowed the citizens of Iran to organise rallies and protests, and make clear to the world the violence that was occurring within and being hidden by Iran. This is just one of many examples of a Twitter account that has been used to post reports from the streets of Iran during June of 2009.
Videos like the one above are easy to find on YouTube. What is important about such videos is how they bring certain issues to light - it is fair to say that if no one posted on Twitter, or put videos on YouTube, the world would have much less knowledge about what is happening abroad. The situation in Iran is just one example of how the internet opens up a way for citizens to become journalists; taking the media into their own hands, and showing their situation to the world. It also provides a form of the digital public sphere because they allow for comment and discussion, such as through the comments section of YouTube. It's not hard to see that this is only the start of the internet's potential as a forum for citizen journalists.
One example of this is the Iran Election of 2009, and the following protests and violence that sprung up, with Iranians turning to Twitter and YouTube to post their own eye-witness reports, photos and videos. This was particularly important because foreign media had been banned from reporting from the streets of Iran.
Using Twitter and YouTube to post information allowed the citizens of Iran to organise rallies and protests, and make clear to the world the violence that was occurring within and being hidden by Iran. This is just one of many examples of a Twitter account that has been used to post reports from the streets of Iran during June of 2009.
Videos like the one above are easy to find on YouTube. What is important about such videos is how they bring certain issues to light - it is fair to say that if no one posted on Twitter, or put videos on YouTube, the world would have much less knowledge about what is happening abroad. The situation in Iran is just one example of how the internet opens up a way for citizens to become journalists; taking the media into their own hands, and showing their situation to the world. It also provides a form of the digital public sphere because they allow for comment and discussion, such as through the comments section of YouTube. It's not hard to see that this is only the start of the internet's potential as a forum for citizen journalists.