‘Citizen journalism turns consumers into creators'

As citizen journalism continues to surge dramatically around the world, delivering a massive blow right into the heart of traditional media, journalists, analysts and scholars are divided as how to define it and in which context to classify this new form of media, which many fear might take over in the near future.

But Gillmor said: “It is only a shift from the media environment that is adding to the media eco-system, but not replacing it. It is no longer about lecture but conversation and listening. Basically, news media organisations are now working with communities to create a better and participatory journalism.

“In 10 years' time, we are going to see a very strange situation whereby many people will be carrying HD cellphones to capture images and get connected to digital networks.

“I don't know how we will respond to that but it is something we would definitely have to get used to.”

Questions remain

However, despite the rise of citizen journalism and the flow of information that is generating, questions remain about the accuracy and transparency of some of that information.

“We would have to find ways to sort out that flow of information,” Gillmor said.

Gillmor advised media organisations to encourage their audiences to seek the principles of scepticism (don't believe everything you see or hear), judgement, research, free-thinking and techniques.

Furthermore, he advised journalists to double efforts to seek thoroughness, accuracy, fairness, indepence and, something new, transparency - qualities that will perhaps make audiences to trust them more.

Vincent Maher said citizen journalism is about two types of economies, the old economy (scarcity, selling and corporate money) and the new economy (abundance, sharing and social attention).

“Traditional media is based on gatekeeping and scarcity of space and time and profit maximisation, while social media is all about vast amount of content (seldom of high quality) and attention maximisation,” Maher said.

Journalists themselves are a threat

He, however, believes that citizen journalism does not constitute a danger to traditional media, but that journalists themselves are a threat to their profession because they refuse to learn new methods about the new media.

SA deputy minister of communications, Roy Padayachie, urged African journalists to be the vanguards and front leaders of the digital revolution taking place around the world.

“Because of you journalists that we are informed, educated and entertained, so educate yourself and understand these technologies very well in order to be able to spread the results of that knowledge all over the continent and in your respective societies.

“We, as governments, will ensure that the right policies and legal frameworks are formulated so that infrastructures and networks are provided to allow society to absorb those technologic changes,” Padayachie said.

Highway Africa is a partnership between Rhodes University's School of Journalism and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), with the support of several private sectors and public sectors. The sole founding sponsor is Telkom.

Other events linked with Highway Africa 2008 include the Digital Citizen Indaba 3.0, training programmes on digital journalism, SABC and ABSA gala dinners, book launches and exhibitions.

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