Citizen Journalism
I read an article in the New Yorker yesterday ("Amateur Hour" by Nicholas Lemann) about this thing called "citizen journalism". Blogging is a huge aspect of this up and coming (already came to stay) journalism.
So, since this is a blog, I thought I'd share some exerts and then tell you how important this blog makes me.
First:
"According to a study published last month by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, there are twelve million bloggers in the United States, and thirty-four per cent of them consider blogging to be a form of journalism. That would add up to more than four million newly minted journalists just among the ranks of American bloggers."
And:
the blog is the newest form of the "pamphlet" with its far-reaching influence (though despite--and perhaps because of--the number of political blogs far exceeding the number of influencial pamplets of the mid to late 1700s in America, the blog has yet to show itself as capable of change as the old pamphlet campaigns--which were "ideally suited to making a public statement at a particular moment.").
BUT blogs could become that influential:
"At least in part, Internet journalism will surely repeat the cycle, and will begin to differentiate itself tonally, by trying to sound responsible and trustworthy in the hope of building a larger, possibly paying audience."
And finally, here's where the article basically alludes to the importance of my blog:
"Citizen journalists bear a heavy theoretical load. They ought to be fanning out like a great army, covering not just what professional journalists cover, as well or better, but also much that they ignore...The Internet is not unfriendly to reporting; potentially, it is the best reporting medium ever invented."
Okay, so relevance is a bit of a stretch. Maybe I just wanted to pass on the article because I found it interesting, and, more importantly, since reading it, i can now tell people that i have a career as a citizen journalist. i've always wanted a career. i'd prefer "retirement" but will settle for citizen journalist.
So, since this is a blog, I thought I'd share some exerts and then tell you how important this blog makes me.
First:
"According to a study published last month by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, there are twelve million bloggers in the United States, and thirty-four per cent of them consider blogging to be a form of journalism. That would add up to more than four million newly minted journalists just among the ranks of American bloggers."
And:
the blog is the newest form of the "pamphlet" with its far-reaching influence (though despite--and perhaps because of--the number of political blogs far exceeding the number of influencial pamplets of the mid to late 1700s in America, the blog has yet to show itself as capable of change as the old pamphlet campaigns--which were "ideally suited to making a public statement at a particular moment.").
BUT blogs could become that influential:
"At least in part, Internet journalism will surely repeat the cycle, and will begin to differentiate itself tonally, by trying to sound responsible and trustworthy in the hope of building a larger, possibly paying audience."
And finally, here's where the article basically alludes to the importance of my blog:
"Citizen journalists bear a heavy theoretical load. They ought to be fanning out like a great army, covering not just what professional journalists cover, as well or better, but also much that they ignore...The Internet is not unfriendly to reporting; potentially, it is the best reporting medium ever invented."
Okay, so relevance is a bit of a stretch. Maybe I just wanted to pass on the article because I found it interesting, and, more importantly, since reading it, i can now tell people that i have a career as a citizen journalist. i've always wanted a career. i'd prefer "retirement" but will settle for citizen journalist.
posted by Elizabeth at 9:35 AM
2 Comments:
you know, bloggers get loads of crap from newspaper journalists because we don't have to worry about censorship and citations. because of that they say that relying on blogs for information is narrow minded. i agree and disagree...i mean, without blogging we wouldn't have the view of the people. i suppose blogging should be a way to start your thoughts, get input, and then go on to get information from sources...but the blog should not be shit on.
sing it, sista.
i think journalists (professional ones, not citizen ones) are freaking that blogging and the internet will ultimately lead to the death of their profession and mainstream media. i don't want that. but people don't always want biased news! republicans have FOX. what do we have?
blogs.
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