Citizen Journalism compared to Professional Journalism - Research Paper Example

Citizen Journalism compared to Professional Journalism Citizen Journalism is now a days very common. The news channels have reports filed in from different correspondents and reporters who do not actually work for these organizations and press houses. What this means is that the phenomenon of Citizen Journalism is one that has shaped up the professional domains more than the Professional Journalism perspectives, which have become mundane and all so monotonous. At times, Citizen Journalism is also remarked as the online form of journalism.

All one needs is a simply handycam and start shooting with his own equipment. At times, it has been seen that Citizen Journalism has brought in results which have been outstanding but due to budget constraints on the part of the people who believe in the philosophy of Citizen Journalism, there are some losses (Marshall 2005). Since there are equipment issues as well, the entire aspect of Citizen Journalism takes a nosedive at times. However the results that come out are astounding to state the least.

Citizen Journalism is on the rise as it has brought in measures which ask of the Professional Journalism domains to be more vibrant and set things rolling in a proper way. Sadly this has not happened and for all the wrong reasons, there have been serious shortcomings in the wake of the journalism regimes. Citizen Journalism is different as it facilitates a connection between the viewers of these news channels and the organization that takes the clips and videos of the novices and amateurs to air it on television.

One shall believe that Citizen Journalism is something that has brought in a good amount of success for these news channels in the time and age of today. And there is reason enough to believe such a premise. One shall believe that Citizen Journalism is indeed the twilight of the press freedom that these news channels talk about. It has helped the people to find out news items and clippings which are covered by different people from varied walks of life, and has made them aware of the weaknesses that exist within any society of the world (Gade 2001).

There is important manifestation of the social issues which have come to light once the realms of Citizen Journalism have become prominent and more so with the competitive world of news channels today, this phenomenon has taken more significance now than ever before. The different coverage and techniques have included the use of a single handycam for shooting purposes and a computer to edit the file that has been shot. After this the file is transferred over an electronic mail to the news channel that later on airs the footage, with or without any changes taking place within the news organization.

It is a matter of fact that Citizen Journalism comes about in the open when the public wants to see things that are different yet engages them to look at the social issues from a new angle (Cartpenter 2008). This is the reason why Citizen Journalism is being given more preference by the viewers as compared to the Professional Journalism, which has been carrying on for a long period of time now. ReferencesCarpenter, S (2008). How Online Citizen Journalism Publications and Online Newspapers Utilize the Objectivity Standard and rely on External Sources.

Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Vol. 85Gade, P (2001). Twilight of Press Freedom: The Rise of People’s Journalism. Lawrence Erlbaum AssociatesMarshall, J (2005). Citizen Journalism Continues to Surge. The Quill, Vol. 93, October