A closer look at citizen journalism

EDITOR – This past Sunday, SAFM radio asked the question whether the media considers citizen journalism as a curse or a blessing.

This inspired me to put keyboard impulses to computer and share the views of the panel of three journalists.

Journalism is a profession where a tertiary qualification is preferred but many a good journalist has successfully filled positions with merely in-house training and becoming acquainted with the discipline the job calls for. Citizen journalism in turn refers to letter writers, bloggers, Facebook posters and tweeting to mention but a few.

That’s it, now we have a lay designation which means guys like me and my apprentice Jeff van Belkum can feel a little more important. We can now display our cheap pens in our shirt pockets with pride.

Two of the three media professionals agreed that social media is a good farming area for journalists, reporters or even columnists. The third journalist, a woman, if it is important to know, does not want to rub shoulders with the novice writers but does agree it has made the media’s work easier and has saved reporters many trips to an outlaying areas to obtain information.

Citizen journalists lose credibility due to the fact that their writings, sources and contents are not verified. The panel did however affirm that this places a great responsibility on the professional wordsmith, to verify information when using social media as an initial source.

We as citizen journalists should also endeavour to present the facts at all times to protect those who use our publications elsewhere.

FRANK HORN

eManzimtoti