Citizen journalism can be seen as both a good and bad thing. According to S. Allan and E. Thorsen citizen journalism is putting too work the technologies all people use on a daily basis. With a global usage of 1.69 billion on Facebook (Statista), citizen journalism has never been better to spread news within social media. This is based on the notion by R. Sambrook that everyone must have access to information, which is immensely seen throughout the spread of social media.
There are however, also bad instances of citizen journalism on social media. Although there are many nations in which citizen journalism is a norm, R. Sambrook notes that not all people are protected under journalistic law in some nations. A Ukrainian man was murdered in 2000 for speaking out against the government. Then, there is also the issue of news rooms ‘digital doorstepping’ (R. Sambrook) rather than asking for witness testimonies. This can ultimately harm the legitimacy of the news story in which they are using, hindering real emotion from the ‘breaking news’. This can also diminish the full message of the news story being captured.
Now an example of citizen journalism in a unique part of the world.
Cyprus is a European nation in the Mediterranean Sea, filled with immaculate beaches, resorts and beautiful people. It is however, swept by the imperialism of Turkey, who illegally occupy 36% of the nation, and a staggering 142,000 persons were removed from their homes due to the invasion in 1974 (this includes my father). It is imperative that news is catered to all Cypriots abroad and in the nation. Some of the top news outlets in Cyprus include Sigma Live and Cyprus Mail. Even in the shores of Australia, news is delivered to Cypriots seen through the ‘Greek News from Cyprus’ program on SBS in the mornings.
When it comes to citizen journalism in Cyprus, it is virtually non-existent. The main topic that is primarily discussed by news outlet is the conflict apparent in Cyprus today. According to S. Sahin, they claim that media outlets pursue nationalistic intentions and claim the other side is wrong (this is in accordance to a Turkish Cypriot standpoint). Citizens journalism could be far more influential to expose the true feelings of the Cypriot Greek people, who have had their land swept away from them. S. Pavlou claims that many news outlets associated with a political party often use their own agenda rather than tackling civilian issues. Although Cypriot news integrate a lot of interviews, the small population of 1.1 million endures a hard process of citizens journalism.
Citizens journalism would really help Cyprus develop a strategy to the Cyprus conflict that plagues the nation since 1974, or at least offer insight into news stories from the people who live within the nation themselves. The conflict in itself continues to be disregarded by big powers such as the United Nations, who made the issue worse when they had to come in. Therefore, a citizens journalistic approach will allow for the corroboration between citizens, the community and news outlets to work together to find a solution. 90.71% of the population (statscounter) are on Facebook, social media could be a massive help for the nation, through the inception of citizens journalism within Cyprus.
PHOTO TAKEN BY ME
REFERENCE LIST
C, Christophorou, S, Sahin, S, Pavlou, 2010, Media, Narratives, Politics and the Cyprus Problem, PRIO Cyprus Centre.
E, Thorsen, S, Allan, 2009, Citizen Journalism- Global Perspectives, Peter Lang.
J, Clement, 2019, Facebook: number of users online from 2015-2020, Statista, accessed on 17th August 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/490424/number-of-worldwide-facebook-users/
J, Owen, H, Purdey, R, Sambrook, 2009, International News Reporting: Frontlines and Deadlines, Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
StatsCounter, Social Media Stats Cyprus, accessed on 17th August 2020, https://gs.statcounter.com/social-media-stats/all/cyprus.
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