citizen journalism, we media and distribution platforms

citizen journalism: when the general public who don't work as journalists contribute to media reports on current events by sharing personal experiences relating to the news.

digital news distribution: 

BBC news app. 
headline with images, small thumbnails with smaller headlines

what social media is used for news:

Snapchat
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Gmail
Yahoo

what social media is trusted for news:

Twitter
Gmail
Yahoo

have you ever posted, commented, or shared a news story on any platform- what was it?

Yes, I have shared news stories on social media with friends via private messages and stories. For example pop culture moments as well as remembrance days.

We media is a way to begin to understand how ordinary citizens, empowered by digital technologies that connect knowledge around the globe, are contributing to and participating in their own truths, their own kind of news. A major example of this is citizen journalism.

Gatekeepers differ from citizen journalism because they will withhold information from others, and only share what they feel is necessary to be known by the public. However, citizen journalism is the opposite and promotes the sharing of information by sharing personal experiences. The information is also much more accessible. 

Example of a citizen journalism website: Wikinews
( https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Main_Page )

difference between wikinews and higher credibility websites

• wikinews: 
• less biased politically 
• tend not to focus on dominant/ breaking news 
• 'share' opinion section- more inclusive/ more 'we media'

• other: more bi-partisan (left/ right wing)

Citizen journalism stage two: reporting events using open- source platforms. 

Task- Me Too movement

1. what role did citizen journalism play in creating awareness?

the public were able to use social media platforms such as twitter to share their stories and generate awareness for the cause. Social media is accessible to people around the world and therefore this was an effective way to make people aware of the movement. Interestingly, this helps catch the attention of bigger media companies such as news platforms which then produced more stories in a more formal way.

2. How did citizen journalism report the issue/story?

For the #Metoo movement it started from Harvey Weinstein who was guilty of rape, many women saw this on social media, this made several other woman feel like they should speak up, which begun an activist campaign. 

3. What platforms were used?

Twitter, Instagram

4. How did the traditional news report the issue/story?

#Metoo was shared all over the news, so if women who didn't have social media, they would have seen this on the TV, which was another way for women to speak up on their own personal experiences.

5. Did the traditional news report the role of citizen journalism in the issue/ story?

Yes, the movement sparked media attention and soon platforms such as Channel 4 news began reporting on the story to further the spread of awareness.