COMMENTARY
This essay is a jumping off point into a very critical area of society and its structures. The media has been given certain protections because of its role in preserving freedom and ensuring some level of accountability in government and society ... something that is very important, and not always delivered.

New technology and new approaches to accountability, the media and investigations could change things for the better. Society needs this, but it is also fair to say that the established power may not want this. Freedom on the Internet is being challenged in all sorts of ways ... the battle is ongoing, and its outcome incredibly important. There are many arguments in play, with both upside and downside in all of them ... and the end game and the agenda of the participants in the dialog not always clear.

I want society to benefit ... most of the arguments are ensuring that some special interest will benefit.
Peter Burgess

How Citizen Journalism Is Reshaping Media and Democracy

IMAGE “So long as the dominant culture’s images of the world continue to be sold to others as the image of the world, image makers are being unethical.” — Jay Ruby

The global media market is dominated by roughly nine or ten transnational corporations: General Electric, AT&T/Liberty Media, Disney, Time Warner, Sony, News Corporation, Viacom, Seagram and Bertelsmann. However, with the advent of social media and blogging, the role of the citizen journalist is becoming more valuable than ever. He has the opportunity to present a unique perspective — to breathe fresh air into a society herded by mainstream media.

The citizen journalist provides invaluable information that can democratize media, as well as nations. For instance, the arrest of 29-year-old Egyptian blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah of Manalaa.net prompted Cairo activists to demand his release.

Working with 14 other clandestine reporters in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, citizen journalist Ryan Boyette and his colleagues have been documenting Sudanese government atrocities by gathering testimonies, photos and video from survivors and eyewitnesses. The team often includes GPS coordinates that locate the attacks, which they transmit to organizations like the Enough Project and Satellite Sentinel Project via solar-powered laptops and satellite phones.

When asked about his work, Boyette communicated his frustration with the lack of global attention the Sudanese crisis had been receiving. The Enough Project explains, “Boyette said he was translating the testimony of an elderly man who had fled the fighting when he realized he needed to bring the stories directly to influentials in the United States.”

These citizen journalists fight to create a well-informed public in which media also serves as moral education. This philosophy radically departs from mainstream journalism, an overarching goal of which is to sell its product. Citizen journalism, on the other hand, allows marginalized people to reclaim their voices, to tell their otherwise silenced stories firsthand.

With the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street movements, we’ve already seen the ability of digital media to democratize. Twitter and mobile technology have allowed citizen journalists to more effectively broadcast the consequences of a repressive Iranian regime – even when major news outlets were blocked. And user-generated images of Abu Ghraib prison allowed a wider public to view immediate content in the palm of its hand.

Charlie Beckett, founding director of Polis, the London School of Economics and Political Science’s forum for international journalism debate, explains, “[Networked Journalism] may contribute to the reformation of the global public sphere by connecting with the world beyond the newsroom…and by transforming the power relationship between media and the public [to reformulate] the means of journalistic production.”

As traditional newsrooms become more constrained by time and resources, the advent of user-generated content on the web can only strengthen journalism. For example, media offshoots like BBC’s User-Generated Content Hub, Reuter’s partnership with blogging network Global Voices, and sites like PJ Media can significantly lower operating costs. On Reuters’ Africa website, bloggers contribute first-hand perspectives, giving Africans a chance to speak for themselves through a blog linked directly with a mainstream media network.

Such online tools not only allow citizens to feel increasingly connected to their communities, but they also provide the opportunity for more balanced reporting. Of course, readers must be able to trust their citizen reporters. Beckett notes, “They are not usually in it for the money…Untrustworthy or irrelevant bloggers tend to get ignored.”

However, there’s always the question whether networked journalism will eventually eliminate the role of the practiced journalist. In that case, consider a certification process that would maintain ethical standards of practice and promote self-regulation, net neutrality and accuracy.

The main takeaway is that citizen journalists act as another check and balance to the mainstream press. Sociologist Michael Schudson explains, “When minorities and women and people who have known poverty and misfortune first-hand are authors of news, as well as its readers, the social world represented in the news expands and changes.”

The ultimate question is: How will global media conglomerates handle this change? One thing is certain — systematic online migrations and newsroom layoffs are prompting fast change. As media outlets and technology shift to include the citizen reporter, readers will adapt and – hopefully – welcome the fresh voice of democracy.

Layla Revis is vice president of digital influence at Ogilvy PR Worldwide. Her specialties include international affairs, tourism and multicultural marketing.