iJournalism

I found the iJournalism article to be interesting but felt as though I was being spoon-feed information. The article breaks down journalism into several different categories, the most interesting being Citizen Journalism. The first is Traditional Journalism think Walter Cronkite the face of American news during the 1960’s. Here we have a news anchor or a gatekeeper that keeps the public on a need to know basis. Public Journalism is a hybrid between traditional and citizen journalism. This would be a reporter engaging the public on certain events. For example there is a town hall meeting and it is documented by a visiting reporter then relayed back to the public. While it can be more informative then Traditional Journalism it still uses the idea of the gatekeepers to control information. Finally there is Citizen Journalism for me this is the most interesting. This is people taking it upon themselves to report on the happenings of news. One of the best examples is the current situation is Egypt, where Citizen Journalism has given the people a voice against the government. Another example would be the video shot by protesters during the G20, which has lead to charges against the police. However like most forms of media you must account for bias and the twisting of facts. With Traditional Journalism there is still accountability on the part of the reporter. Think back to the President Bush Air Force scandal that was reported by Dan Rather. Rather ended up having to give an apology to the U.S. people for misreporting on the topic. Citizen Journalism is not held in the same fashion but how can it be? It would be impossible to hold any Citizen Journalist to set standards because there is no governing body. Citizen Journalism can be an amazing tool for challenging traditional media outlets, but remember to question everything you are told.