Olivia’s presentation showed an incredible role ordinary people play in shaping the media today. Citizen journalism has grown from a simple way to share information into a powerful tool for modern news reporting, thanks to social media and other digital platforms. It was interesting to see how quickly and easily individuals can bring news to the public, instead of waiting for traditional media outlets.
A specific part of Olivias presentation that stuck out to me was her showing how citizen journalism has been around for longer than we may think. Yes, we gain a lot of our information today from major news companies like Fox News or the New York Times. Here we saw how civilians word of mouth played such an important role in capturing today's news. Olivia included the example of John F. Kennedys assassination and how bystanders had captured the video before news crews could even arrive. This just shows how civilians play such a crucial role in receiving and spreading news.
Through the presentation we also heard how the internet also has played a major role in citizen journalism. Due to the new platforms of "blogging" arising people were allowed to post their opinions and perspectives on the internet for the whole world to see. This has also continued to today's day with the rise of social media platforms such as Twitter (now X) and Facebook. These platforms have transformed the way people get news and how we keep up to date with the latest fashion trends, best restaurants, etc. Most people of the Gen Z generation cannot imagine life before social media.
One of the downsides of citizen journalism that Olivia mentioned was that it can create false issues and spread wrong information. Due to everyone having access to all platforms this also allows for anyone to write what they choose. This includes wrong information which can cause issues when it comes to fact checking. That is why they say "do not believe everything you see on the internet". This is due to the lack of fact checking. Some people choose to spread lies and false information for entertainment which is wrong. This is why checking your sources of the news and fact checking becomes crucial when using these social media platforms.
Citizen journalism connects to my presentation on Diffusion of Innovation Theory because innovation theory relates to how different platforms or trends populate over time. This compares to citizen journalism due the similarities with how social media has taken an influence in the young generations. We see how social media has gained major popularity with Gen Z and also how this is the primary way that they receive there news. Compared to our parents generation who receive there news from the local television channels as well as newspapers one thing that Gen Z needs to be aware of again is the fact checking. Yes, hearing diverse opinions on topics is a great thing in order to see different perspectives but also we need to make sure they are accurate.
Olivia does an excellent job outlining the advantages and disadvantages of citizen journalism. It plays an important role in modern media by amplifying unique perspectives, particularly from underrepresented groups. As technology and social media evolve, accuracy concerns remain a challenge. Having the ability to now share opinions on a free basis allows for individuals to connect with others across the world.
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