What is the difference between citizen journalism versus traditional journalism and how would you rate their value in todays world? Citizen Journalism is when average citizens, including myself, participate in the telling of news and information. It is evident that citizen journalism is an up and coming trend, as people are generally the most reliable sources in establishing opinions and providing facts. For instance, prior to eating at a restaurant, it is typical for people to read reviews regarding the quality of food and other information about the place. These comments and ratings are highly valuable, as they literally save both time and money.
For example, last week, my family and I were in Morocco and made dinner plans at a notable French restaurant outside of the hotel. We had a long travel day and felt rather jet lagged as dinner time was approaching, so we looked up the restaurant online and read multiple comments about it. Although none of them had negative remarks, the comments exemplified that the restaurant was very fancy and there was minimal options on the menu. We therefore came to the conclusion that we should skip this dinner and have a light bite in the hotel. Through this minor example, it is clear that we as individuals can be highly influential in attracting clientele, and shaping perceptions about businesses. Additionally, in modern society with the high emphasis on Web 2.0, individuals are truly becoming a valid source of information. There are various bloggers that have established themselves online and are now considered experts in their particular field. For example, you may have heard of the site Bro Bible. Here, the writers explore various fields including Girls, Sports, Music, Entertainment and more. From simply writing and providing news on a day to day basis, this site has receive credibility and serves as a source for gaining knowledge particularly for males.
On the opposite of the spectrum, traditional journalism refers to newspapers and news outlets that are extremely credible and focused solely on news and information. These outlets include FOX, CNN, Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, and various others. However, in my eyes, these traditional news outlets are slowly dying down as a result of citizen journalism. First and foremost, newspapers will soon be obsolete due to the fact that the Internet is taking over. Why would someone take the time to buy a newspaper, skim the pages, and find the details of the story, when it can simply be googled? Due to the fact that everything is moving online, it is giving citizens a large opportunity to establish themselves as experts regarding news and information. I highly believe that citizen journalism will continue to thrive simply because we rely on Internet heavily, and we seem to trust what our peers have to say.
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