Qotw9: The commoners as journalists?

As a child, I remember journalism being an exclusive thing. It was something that only a few could do, and becoming a journalist was not an easy goal for many. During the rare occasions when I actually the news, I remember wondering how these reporters were fortunate to be journalists. At that time, it was almost impossible to be recognized as a worthy journalist. Now, fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, things have changed tremendously. It is hard to imagine we commonfolk as journalists.

Citizen journalism is now fast invading our lives. Citizen journalism involves citizens actively reporting, analyzing and sharing news and information. (Citizen Journalism, 2007) This means that you don’t have to be a professional journalist to report the latest on-goings. You can share your views with the world from the comfort of your own home. The more common versions of citizen journalism are in the form of weblog and posting videos online. Through theses two mediums, people report their perspective of what is going on, and share their opinions in the situation. This is different from traditional journalist as citizens are not required to remain objective.

STOMP (Straits Times Online Mobile Print) is a venture of Singapore Press Holdings. It’s main aim is for Singaporeans to actively be a part of Singapore’s current affairs through the mediums of print, online and mobile. (Stomp, 2006) Through these mediums, Singaporeans can send their thoughts and ideas to the Straits Times directly, and hopefully allow them to be more involved in the news media.

However, can STOMP be considered as an ideal form of citizen journalism? There are many features that STOMP provides. It allows citizens to rate and review movies and games, and even has sections catered to various groups of interest. However the idea behind citizen journalism is not about controlling what the citizens have to say.

Instead as Dan Gillmor pointed out “I like the idea that people are watching what I say and cor­recting me if I get things wrong—or challenging my conclu­sions, based on the same facts (or facts I hadn’t known about when I wrote the piece.) This is a piece of tomorrow’s jour­nalism, and we in the business should welcome the feedback and assistance that, if we do it right, becomes part of a larger conversation.”(2004)

STOMP certainly encourages citizens to start being active in the local news situation. This is a start for Singaporeans to be more open and less restrictive about their opinions. The world is changing, and Singaporeans should adapt to the changes. There is no point in being left behind. What is more important is that there is Singaporeans need to understand their rights as citizen journalists, and not abuse those rights.

STOMP is a fairly new venture. So we’ll just have to wait and see if there STOMP can meet its purpose. The best way is for STOMP to reach out to more citizens and prove that they do not restrict the citizen’s right to express themselves. This is just the beginning.

References

“Citizen journalism” (March 28, 2006) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 14:59, March 28, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism

Gillmor, D. “We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People” (July, 2004). Retrieved March 28, 2007 from http://download.nowis.com/index.cfm?hile=WeTheMedia.html&tipe=text/html#chap9

STOMP (2006) From Singapore Press HoldingsRetrieved March 28, 2007 fromhttp://www.stomp.com.sg/