The Rise and Rise of UGC

1. What is meant by the term ‘citizen journalist’?

A ‘Citizen Journalist ‘is defined as a media user who produces media texts, for example blogs. The also capture events and things taking place live and alter the media in to their own personal opinion.  

2. What was one of the first examples of news being generated by ‘ordinary people’?

The first example of news being caught live was the case of Rodney King, he was an African-American. After a high speed chase, the 4 LA officers had surrounded him, tasered him and beat him with clubs. The event was being filmed by an onlooker from his apartment window. The home-video footage had made prime-time news and became an international media sensation, and a focus for complaints about police racism towards African-Americans. The 4 LA Four officers were charged with assault and use of excessive force, but in 1992 they were acquitted of the charges. This acquittal, in the face of the video footage which clearly showed the beatings, sparked huge civil unrest. There were six days of riots, 53 people died, and around 4000 people were injured. The costs of the damage, looting and clear-up came in at up to a billion dollars.

3. List some of the formats for participation that are now offered by news organisations.

Ø  Message boards

Ø  Chat Rooms

Ø  Question & Answer

Ø  Polls

Ø  Have your says

Ø  Blogs with comments enabled

Ø  Social Networks:

1)      Bebo

2)      MySpace

3)      Facebook

4)      You Tube

4. What is one of the main differences between professionally shot footage and that taken first-hand (UGC)?

The main difference is that the first hand footage (UGC) is more hard-hitting and emotive compared to professionally shot footage behind the police lines as it is an on the seen account.

5. What is a gatekeeper?

Gatekeepers are the professional editors and producers who control what is and isn’t shown on the news live.

6. How has the role of a gatekeeper changed?

Gatekeepers are becoming less powerful as they cannot control the user generated content and what is shown on the blogosphere, where small minorities are able to project their views and ideologies.

7. What is one of the primary concerns held by journalists over the rise of UGC?

One of the concerns is that they may lose jobs, as the institutions now use sources from the citizen journalists, also known as crowd sourcing. 

Examples

The case of Rodney King, he was an African-American. After a high speed chase, the 4 LA officers had surrounded him, tasered him and beat him with clubs. The event was being filmed by an onlooker from his apartment window. Four officers were charged with assault and use of excessive force, but in 1992 they were acquitted of the charges. This acquittal, in the face of the video footage which clearly showed the beatings, sparked huge civil unrest. There were six days of riots, 53 people died, and around 4000 people were injured. The costs of the damage, looting and clear-up came in at up to a billion dollars. 

Another example is the natural disaster of the Asian Tsunami on December 26th 2004 was another turning point for UGC. Tourists were recording one of the worst natural disasters in recent times. In addition, in the days after the disaster, social networking sites provided witness accounts for a world-wide audience, helped survivors and family members get in touch and acted as a forum all those involved to share their experiences.

A third example, the London bombings on July 5th 2005, provided another opportunity for citizen journalists to influence the mainstream news agenda. No one was closer to events than those caught up in the bombings, and the footage they provided from their mobile phones was raw and uncompromising. This first-hand view, rather than professionally shot footage from behind police lines, is often more hard-hitting and emotive. 

A fourth example is the package of writings, photos and video footage that 23-year-old Seung-Hui Cho, an undergraduate at Virginia Tech, mailed into NBC News. Between his first attack, when he shot two people, he sent the package from a local post office, before going on to kill a further 30 people. In his so-called ‘manifesto’ Cho showed his paranoia and obsession, likening himself to Jesus Christ. 

The fifth example used is of the Mumbai bombings in India in late November 2008. As bombs exploded across the city, the world’s media got up-to date with events through reports on Twitter and Flickr. 

The next example is the story of the Hudson River plane crash on January 15th 2009 was broken to the world. With a dramatic picture of a plane half sinking in the river, and passengers crowded on the wing awaiting rescue Janis Krun tweeted: “There’s a plane in the Hudson. I’m on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy.”

Benefits to institutions 

The benefits to the institutions are that they get more than opinion and that they are opened to criticism for example, blogger who get paid, for advertising on blogs.

Benefits to audience 

The benefit to audiences is that they are able to portray their views more freely and this gives support to a more pluralistic environment as there are more than 1-3 views on different debates.

Wider issues and debates 

What effect does this have on the professional journalists if the citizen journalist is able to post up their footage online?

Social

Wider use of social media, for example on twitter people can tweet and retweet stories, incidents, pictures and videos, similarly to Facebook where the audience is able to share their view and opinions online.

Historical

The turning point was the first ever use of cameras to record and send in video graphic evidence to portray the tyranny and reality of the world, rather than a biased view of the newspaper and its institution.

Economical

From an economic perspective, the use of user generated content saves money for them and is cheaper to use compared to journalists.