We are concluding the term with an examination of participatory journalism (and in particular, participatory journalism online). For your final news journal assignment, write an entry of about one or two paragraphs in which you discuss an example of participatory journalism and how that example might contribute to our understanding of journalism as a whole. Use the resources on participatory journalism I have provided as a starting point, though you may choose an example from elsewhere if you wish. Post your submission by using the comments link at the bottom of this entry. We will discuss this further in class. If you have questions, please ask me.
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News Journal Assignment
International Journalism on Participatory Journalism
I think that participatory journalism is the new wave in international journalism at all. It’s a new technological discovery in our world because a lot of people from other places around the world have possibility to communicate, ability to get a new high society. The new technological information it’s a new era of journalism. The new mass media magnate, like Internet, its new exit for advertising information. Today the method of “do it yourself” journalism is comfortable and helpful, because you can tell and show some interesting news to a lot of people. It is very easy because there are a lot of forums, chats, web logs, and mails. The interest is choosing by you. In my opinion it is very cool that people can uniting and talking, talking, talking. For example, for me it’s very interesting to know and see the photos from 11 of September by eyes of victims. In network of Internet people can promote information, change information, send information. So in general, people can participate in life of Internet; consequently, they’re participating in journalism’s life in all. People are creating network with communication; moreover, they are creating journalism, participatory journalism
Last.FM
I found some interesting thing in technology development. It is not very young, but and not so old one. It is interesting to see that there are a lot of entertainments, and interactions. “Last.fm” was created in Britain in 2002. It is music community website. There it is possible to find a music recommendation system, user enter the information that he or she likes and finds on a percentages grade the same person with the same interests. Users can produce institution radio stations from any of the audio tracks in Last.fm’s music library his own computer, but are not able to listen to personal songs on command, or to download tracks unless the author has previously authorized it. Sovereign record tracks and unidentified artists are confident to support their music on the site, because the filtering and suggestion features mean that the music will be played for users who already like similar artists. Another interesting thing is that there is possible to notice is that site produces weekly “global” charts of the top 400 artists and songs listened to by all users all over the world. To avoid the artificial increasing of an artist or song by purposely-repeated tracks from a single listener, these charts are based on the total number of individual listeners and not the number of definite plays. Moreover, users may find friends and have chat with them. According to the most interesting thing that people like on the planet, may available on the “last.fm”.
Charts are available for the top tracks by each artist in the site structure as well as the top tracks for personal albums. Celebration profiles also maintain track of a short list of Top Fans, which is designed by a method intended to describe significance of an artist in a fan’s own profile, balancing out users who play hundreds of tracks overall versus those who play only a few.
It is interesting and exiting to find something amazing and new during the “trip” through Internet. There are a lot of similar sites, but the most popular and convenient is “List.fm”.
I would like to provide an example of chat rooms and forums from participatory journalism. It is well known fact that everyone who wants can put a comments or discuss different topics, articles and news in the Internet. For this reason, a lot of chat rooms and forums were made in the Internet. However there are some advantages and disadvantages in this system.
Firstly, it is easy to take part in discussion in this way, as many people have Internet this day. Also if you want you can make anonymous statements. However, all that information can be a little bit chaotic and non accurate. It is not always clear will this information it be useful or not. Of course in forums it is easier to understand what people are talking about, it is usually divided by different topics.
Usually there a lot of extraneous comments, that even can intervene to understand the issue. But it is really good chance if you want to share your opinion with other people.
I think nowadays audience become more powerful to explain their ideas, have voices because we have access to Internet. We can communicate through these new technology advantages, quickly be informed what is going on in the World. And for journalists to use net sourses is very comfortable. But at the same time I think with these advantages we have also disadvantages because many people can access to Web. Information spreads quikly and can be changed and some people doubt whether it credible source on that we can rely, trust or not. But we can not imagine living without Internet.
Nowadays in the electronic age on-line journalism is very popular because everyone has Internet and everybody can create her or his own journalism. I think that it has as adventages as disadventages. It helps people to know many interesting and important information; people can chatting with each other and can exchange opinions. On the other hand, it can be a unaccurasy, untrully and non-verificated information because majority of users are not professionals and even have not any view about journalism at all. Therefore, people should always be aware about all what they cover.
Participatory Journalism
Participatory Journalism is recognized as one of the most powerful terms in general journalism.
It makes available for all people to attend the particular discussion and everyone is able to speak out loud about an issue that is disturbing particular person.So attending forums ,chats and carrying blogs can make you feel like a real journalist.
The increasing of latest information technologies is becoming available for more and more groups of people where each of them might have his/her own voice in disputing the particular issue or solving the particular problem wherever it would be.
However, as soon as participatory journalism is largely available no one can control it, cause it is via the Internet.So it has not any code of ethics.Note in vane said that it is the most powerful term of journalism.As it is written in “We Media” participatory journalism has a model of “publish, then filter” unlike the traditional model of “filter, then publish”.Finally, it is a freedom of speech , but there should be a drop of ethics in there.
Today on-line journalism is really widespread. Because we live in the electronic century, every one can publish his own opinion and make the news.But this progress has advantages and disadvantages in the same time.
We live in the democracy society and in the independent world. Certanly it is very comfortable, when we can conect with each other, and recive the information from the first hands.
On the other hand, it can be very dangerouse because media is a weapon. In my opinion, covering and making news is accupation only for professional journalists because ordinary people can not be objektivity, fareness, and accuracy.
Therefore, i think that everyone shold do his own work.
When we are speaking about active part of our society , I mean sitizen participatory, who takes part in different forums, chats and tells us, shares with us with their opinions, thots and give recommendations; who undestand that problems we have can’t be allowed by themselfes – we should notice that for journalism at all it is an excellent possibillity or it is a good sphere, arena to work , I mean here we can extract, add, receive the information for further works.
In my opinion the participatory journalism is one of the main part of journalism at all. People can express their thoughts independently of other opinions with the help of media, but also we can influence on the public view or just spread information around the world. It is just considered so. Unfortunately, today, in some cases, journalism has lost its sense. Journalism, especially participatory is a freedom of speech. I can show an example of journalism in Iran. I have read the article Iran’s War of Words by Omid Memarian. It is “crying” injustice. Journalists there can’t express their thoughts; they can’t say the truth for public. There is forbidden any criticism of such topics as religious foundations, governmental leader. The authority just tries to create a perfect country with the help of false journalism. Journalism is a democracy. Nevertheless, there are many countries with such regimes. Omid Memarian one of those journalists who can’t stand such position, he tries to reconstruct the injustice. Blogging is a good solution in this case. It is a real freedom of speech, no pluralism, and no punishment. Whatever you wanted to say you could express it as it goes.
In my opinion participatory journalism is a slippery creature, open-source journalism, personal media, grassroots reporting, networked journalism, open source journalism, and citizen media. We use more and more media, all the time, and we’re not even aware of it.
When citizens contribute photos, video and news updates to mainstream news outlets, many would argue they’re doing journalism. Participatory journalism is not without problems, the panelists noted. Femia highlighted some of the issues including credibility, keeping content fresh and dealing with technical glitches. Citizens take up journalism’s tools! Citizen journalists may be activists within the communities they write about. Citizens “playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information”. Doing citizen journalism right means crafting a crew of correspondents who are typically excluded from or misrepresented by local television news. Of course it is useful, when person, who is the only one eyewittness of an accident is sharing with journalists (who have journalistic education) with information! This person is used by journalists as a sourse of information.
Advantages of Participatory journalism.
According to high developed technologies, today we have as great access to any information. Also journalism is highly developed too. Observing internet, newspapers, watching television, listening radio, it is true that people witness professional journalistic activities. But not only professional journalists desire to write and present news or specific event. People working in other areas or branches are more likely to write news stories, columns, express their opinion taking on consideration majority of professional attitudes of journalism. As we can see from developed opportunities there are huge amount of approaches to be a kind of writer. In the past, we were witnessing traditional way of publishing stories by professional journalist, but now every individual can write and publish articles by their own.
Participatory journalism in my opinion is one of the best and interesting systems in current journalism. It gives chance for real people to show their writing not only for definite community but for the whole world. I, personally like participatory journalism as it also gives me capability to see others publications, opinions. Moreover I had an experience to work in participatory journalism. Weblogging. I like this kind of system, because we can write any news story (considering all ethical rules) and at the same time be anonymous author of the story. It is not an exception that there are also a lot of ways of participatory journalism. But I give my preferences to weblogging because my publications can be read by all interested individuals around the world.
The human nature was structured in very interesting way. On the same step with physiological needs such as water, food, sleep and oxygen, stands a need to be informed and a need to be involved in conversation in which every person has its own opinion and a right to say it out loudly. Participatory journalim is a new wave of independent writing which I think in a few years will be revolutional and will change the view of journalism from habitual to totally unexpected. And this kind of jouralism has the bunch of its pluses. In conversation can take part everyone inspite of colour of skin or social status, everyone can write and use this right fully. For example the news paper production costs a lot of money, a tv station much more, but if compare with those two, computer and internet connection is much more accesible. Participatory journalism is somehow a watchdog which plays a big role in journalism at whole.
In the 19th century journalism was a privilege of the elite. Later on with the emergence of wars it became a nessecity and turned into a profession, a job. Now, with the emergence of the internet and high-tech devices humanity faces an issue of participatory journalism, where people who were not even trained to be journalists but are willing to share their opinions with the public and learn more about what is happenening in the world can take part just by having a computer. Participatory journalism in my opinion is another sign of a democratic society and a sign of its maturity. Weblogs are a great tool for participatory journalism as well as other tools like personal websites etc. My guess is that with time as people are more professionally trained participatory journalism will take over all other kinds of journalism. Although I wouldn’t like that to happen.