Citizen Journalism: Challenges and
Opportunities
Abstract
This paper deals with the phenomenon of citizen journalism from a critical point of view..
Citizen journalism is known as grassroots and participatory journalism. It has become
more widespread expecially with digital development. Social media allows every user to
participate in social discourse as a member of civil sociery. Citizen journalism reaches its
audience on podcasts on the homepage by participating in video platforms such as
YouTube. Growth goes hand-in-hand with a crisis of credibility and the established media.
Traditional print media in particular is struggling to survive and the monopoly of
professional journalism has come to an end. This paper will examine the impact of citizen
journalism on democratic processes and whether a general assessment of the
participatory communication model is feasible. Therefore, the various forms of arbitral
participation are examined and some examples of its misuse are discussed. This study
focuses on the gray areas that exist between professional media work and citizen
journalism.
KEYWORDS
Citizen journalism, Democracy, Social media, Participatory.
INTRODUCTION
In this paper, we will tackle the prevalence of citizen journalism and its importance in
communication theory, It will try to answer the Question of whether this phenomenon
leads to Democratization of public discourse and an Approach to social coexistence. This
study is Interested in the gray areas that exist between professional media work and
participatory citizen journalism. In Jurgen Habermas deliberative model of democracy, the
question is asked whether his development democratizes public discourse and whether a
clear distinction can be made between established and participatory news or professional
1
, and general journalism (Wessler, 2008). This research also evaluates how the government
reacts to these new developments and the potential consequences citizen journalism can
bring (Ozkececi, 2019).
In this paper, I tackle the prevalence of citizen journalism and its importance in
communication theory. I try to answer the question whether this phenomenon leads to the
democratization of public discourse and its approach to social coexistence. These studies
in communication science are of particular interest in those democratizing efforts to
improve on the classical transmitter-receiver model. There is no doubt that questions of
citizen journalism are linked to some models of democracy, which do not support an elitist
or representative democracy, but a direct democracy with opportunities for participation
(Nielsen, 2017; Ozkececi, 2019).
However, this issue cannot be separated from technological developments and related
innovations. The digital age opens up new opportunities for journalism that works
independently without massive corporations and big budgets. Does citizen journalism
challenge or support established authority? Can it bring new threats to democracy or does
it mean some kind of participation to strengthen democracy? It attempts to answer
research questions with the help of subject-specific literature, which acts as a secondary
source. I have researched citizen journalism to highlight democratic achievements without
ignoring the potential pitfalls of an oversupply of information (Anderson, and Revers, 2018;
Esser, and Neuberger, 2019).
Citizen Journalism
The terms for citizen journalism are grassroots or participatory journalism. Citizen
journalism is not a new invention, but a relatively new term for an already familiar
phenomenon (Noor, 2017). The struggle between forbidden and permitted ideas runs like a
common thread through history. Not only is knowledge power, but also the influence on the
media, which conveys this knowledge and makes new perspectives possible (Pain, 2018).
The digital age is a completely new opportunity to disseminate information outside the
mass media and end the previous monopoly of knowledge. Without a big budget, anyone
can create and post news on the Internet. In fact, there is a multitude of blogs, Internet.
Newspapers or distributors, and citizen journalists are also active on social media and
video platforms (Zeng, et. Al., 2019; Biswal, 2019).
2
Opportunities
Abstract
This paper deals with the phenomenon of citizen journalism from a critical point of view..
Citizen journalism is known as grassroots and participatory journalism. It has become
more widespread expecially with digital development. Social media allows every user to
participate in social discourse as a member of civil sociery. Citizen journalism reaches its
audience on podcasts on the homepage by participating in video platforms such as
YouTube. Growth goes hand-in-hand with a crisis of credibility and the established media.
Traditional print media in particular is struggling to survive and the monopoly of
professional journalism has come to an end. This paper will examine the impact of citizen
journalism on democratic processes and whether a general assessment of the
participatory communication model is feasible. Therefore, the various forms of arbitral
participation are examined and some examples of its misuse are discussed. This study
focuses on the gray areas that exist between professional media work and citizen
journalism.
KEYWORDS
Citizen journalism, Democracy, Social media, Participatory.
INTRODUCTION
In this paper, we will tackle the prevalence of citizen journalism and its importance in
communication theory, It will try to answer the Question of whether this phenomenon
leads to Democratization of public discourse and an Approach to social coexistence. This
study is Interested in the gray areas that exist between professional media work and
participatory citizen journalism. In Jurgen Habermas deliberative model of democracy, the
question is asked whether his development democratizes public discourse and whether a
clear distinction can be made between established and participatory news or professional
1
, and general journalism (Wessler, 2008). This research also evaluates how the government
reacts to these new developments and the potential consequences citizen journalism can
bring (Ozkececi, 2019).
In this paper, I tackle the prevalence of citizen journalism and its importance in
communication theory. I try to answer the question whether this phenomenon leads to the
democratization of public discourse and its approach to social coexistence. These studies
in communication science are of particular interest in those democratizing efforts to
improve on the classical transmitter-receiver model. There is no doubt that questions of
citizen journalism are linked to some models of democracy, which do not support an elitist
or representative democracy, but a direct democracy with opportunities for participation
(Nielsen, 2017; Ozkececi, 2019).
However, this issue cannot be separated from technological developments and related
innovations. The digital age opens up new opportunities for journalism that works
independently without massive corporations and big budgets. Does citizen journalism
challenge or support established authority? Can it bring new threats to democracy or does
it mean some kind of participation to strengthen democracy? It attempts to answer
research questions with the help of subject-specific literature, which acts as a secondary
source. I have researched citizen journalism to highlight democratic achievements without
ignoring the potential pitfalls of an oversupply of information (Anderson, and Revers, 2018;
Esser, and Neuberger, 2019).
Citizen Journalism
The terms for citizen journalism are grassroots or participatory journalism. Citizen
journalism is not a new invention, but a relatively new term for an already familiar
phenomenon (Noor, 2017). The struggle between forbidden and permitted ideas runs like a
common thread through history. Not only is knowledge power, but also the influence on the
media, which conveys this knowledge and makes new perspectives possible (Pain, 2018).
The digital age is a completely new opportunity to disseminate information outside the
mass media and end the previous monopoly of knowledge. Without a big budget, anyone
can create and post news on the Internet. In fact, there is a multitude of blogs, Internet.
Newspapers or distributors, and citizen journalists are also active on social media and
video platforms (Zeng, et. Al., 2019; Biswal, 2019).
2
