Clever Communications - Voluntary Action Media Unit

Citizen journalism
Citizen journalism is a broad term used to
describe what happens when ordinary
citizens (anyone who is not a professional
journalist) contributes to collecting,
reporting, analysing and disseminating news
and information. This may be through blogs,
comments on websites, photographs or
video. Much citizen journalism is performed
through mainstream media outlets – a
viewer being invited to send a question to
put to an expert is citizen journalism, as is
sending a photograph for inclusion on a
news website.
The are limitless opportunities for
charities to be citizen journalists.
At a central level they can operate blogs,
make their own videos or voice recordings
for the Internet. They can submit pictures
and recordings to broadcasters and have
an organised strategy of responding to
articles online and commenting on blog
posts. For organisations able to harness
a network of supporters, everyone can
contribute: from commenting on web
articles to posting their own videos online
and alerting friends and contacts to the
cause via e-mail.
‘Charities and other voluntary
organisations can improve their public
profile by harnessing the power of
citizen journalism,’ says Marc Wadsworth,
editor of citizen journalist website
Ellie Levenson, Freelance Journalist
www.the-latest.com. ‘Many of these
groups complain that their good work
is either not reported by the media or is
marginalised. By using citizen journalism
they can immediately publicise their
activities to the world. Recent examples
include Brighton Animal Action’s campaign
to free Lulu the turtle from captivity at a
marine centre, The Big Issue’s launch of
its new Bigger Movement pressure group
against poverty, the Anti-Racist Alliance’s
successful campaign to get Scandinavia’s
largest confectionary manufacturer to
remove a racist image from sweet packets,
and the World Development Movement’s
contribution to the 200th anniversary of the
abolition of the slave trade.’
To be a citizen journalist you need
nothing more than an Internet connection
to post comments and a basic digital
camera that also takes video if you want to
contribute to sites such as YouTube.
You should always submit your material
at the highest quality possible, though
be mindful of file size limitations for some
sites/broadcasters.
Ellie Levenson is a
freelance journalist.
www.ellielevenson.co.uk
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