Participatory Journalism is here to stay

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Shrabani Mukherjee

26 January, 2012

In case you have heard the phrase 'Participatory Journalism' and is yet to know what it means, then you should learn more about it as this concept is here to stay. People who want to participate in each others' well-being are reporting facts and pictures from all the corners of the world.

WHEN NO one had even considered that citizens of the country can actually be a useful part of journalism, in America people were participating actively in the 1988 U.S presidential election. Although the idea did not catch up with the world then, yet pseudo journalists were a part of the of the public, civic, and journalism movement that emerged due to mistrust for the conventional media. Thus, the birth of Participatory Journalism happened but the concept reached a milestone during the Arab Spring, when people actively reported whatever they saw around them.

Citizen journalism has many names such as participatory, public, democratic, guerrilla and street journalism. The term basically means that when the citizens of a country turn journalist by reporting about incidents. Participatory Journalism increased with people blogging about various problems in the society. The information can come in various forms such as a podcast editorial, a report about a city council meeting on a blog or a personal experience. It can also include text, pictures, audio and video and these days Social Networking sites are also playing important roles in Participatory Journalism.

Participatory journalism is important as it allows people to voice their own opinions. That is what happened in the Occupy Movement, where people raised their voice against the government through You Tube, Blogs and and means of digital journalism . Sometimes media comes under political pressure and their movements are crippled. This is where comes the need of another kind of Journalism that's not bound by any political pressure. Through Citizen Journalism various unheard stories comes to the fore and awareness spreads. It tells us that each and every voice is important and all opinions count.

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While Citizen Journalism has been approved and applauded by the majority, there are some who do not like the new concept. Some traditional journalists feels that since citizens are not trained Journalist students, their reports are often amateurish. Citizens Journalists also do not follow the rules of journalism giving reports that are haphazard and scattered. However, everyone should remember, given the troubled times and the accessibility to information, Participatory Journalism is thriving.

To give an example, in order to encourage people CNN has come up with an award that honours the Citizen Journalist across the world for their efforts in participating in their module known as iReport. They started the award show in 2010 as they believe that participatory journalists are their biggest strength and people should be encouraged.