Yesterday an interesting article reviewed the growth of so-called "citizen journalism" in 2005. The article in question - The year of the digital citizen (Jo Twist, BBC News: Technology) - begins by suggesting "2005 was arguably the year citizens really started to do it for themselves. Raising mobiles aloft, they did not just talk and text, they snapped, shared and reported the world around them."
Further interesting points discussed include how blogging, vlogging and podcasts increasingly offer the average citizen a cheap, accessible and locally relevant way in which to engage with other people, and sometimes attract the attention of the mass media.
On the whole such mediums appear to be adding to the nature of how we attain news by offering a diversity of voices, sources, and choice. It seems that the audience for information, news or even propoganda, now have a way into a previously closed system. In effect, will 2006 signal a year in which bloggers, vloggers or podcasters become an even more vital part of a system previously closed to them? I believe this will be the case, but I also sense that the status quo is not quite ready for bottom-up reporting.
Further interesting points discussed include how blogging, vlogging and podcasts increasingly offer the average citizen a cheap, accessible and locally relevant way in which to engage with other people, and sometimes attract the attention of the mass media.
On the whole such mediums appear to be adding to the nature of how we attain news by offering a diversity of voices, sources, and choice. It seems that the audience for information, news or even propoganda, now have a way into a previously closed system. In effect, will 2006 signal a year in which bloggers, vloggers or podcasters become an even more vital part of a system previously closed to them? I believe this will be the case, but I also sense that the status quo is not quite ready for bottom-up reporting.
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