Blogging and Rise of Participatory Journalism - Impact and Implications for Traditional News Media - Literature review Example

Blogging and The Rise of Participatory Journalism: Its Impact & implications for Traditional News Media Introduction: The rapid advancement of technology fuelled by the internet and the introduction of a range of devices including tablets, phablets and smart phones has dramatically transformed the conventional news media landscape. These gadgets have equipped millions of people with the power, equivalent to the press, to access as well as publish ‘news content’ to the internet. Recent statistics provided by Pew Research Centre’s Internet Project indicate a significant growth in photo and video sharing online. Approximately 54 per cent of internet users are known to have posted original photos and videos to websites and 47 per cent of them share photos and videos online elsewhere on the internet (PEW Research Center, 2013a). News outlets especially the conventional mass media have been struggling to confront the issue of dwindling audience, for a while now. As more and more readers increasingly turn to the alternative media such as blogs, social networking sites and other citizen generated content for information on current events (Kohut, 2013) the credibility and existence of traditional media landscape itself is called into question. The rise in consumption of citizen generated content and by extension, participatory journalism in the form of news blogs, is a cause of critical concern for the traditional journalists since it threatens to push the traditional news media, particularly the print media into extinction. The rise of social media has tilted the balance of power in favour of the citizens who are now able to generate access and share news content from the comforts of their homes. The dramatic street protests observed recently in the form of The Occupy Movement provided ample evidence of the power of common citizens and the manner in which news today is generated, distributed, and consumed. The role of participatory journalism has redefined the scope and role of traditional journalists leaving a strong political and social impact and giving rise to severe debates both – in favour as well as against the rising trend. Variables: Blogging - For the purpose of this study blogging refers to the generation and development of easily created and manageable web pages which are updated in regularly or real time by citizens along with their own personal commentary and links of public interest (Grabowics, 2003; Wall, 2004, 2005; Blood, 2003). This is a definition/ description of the term hence the use of old sources is justified. Conventional journalism – refers to the traditional practice of relying on news content generated by journalists and professionals, specifically hired for the job. Contemporary/ modern-day-journalism – refers to the current trend whereby the news content generated by popular news agents in the mass media such as The Guardian, CNN, BBC etc with inputs from citizen generated contents (i.e. blogs). Participatory / citizen journalism – The terms participatory journalism or citizen journalism are often used interchangeably to refer to "user generated content within a journalist-driven frame of news, such as reader forums" (Siapera and Veglis, 2012: p. 68). Vaughn (2007) defines the term as "the journalistic practices by citizen reporters through which ordinary citizens write, report, edit, and send image, texts, video, and audio to other audiences" (p. 101). Also a definition, so use of old sources isn’t much of a concern here either Literature Review: Brief history In the recent decade there has been rising debates and concerns over the dramatic change in the manner in which news is produced, distributed, and accessed with technology playing a key role in driving such change (Bruns, 2008). This section is titled “brief HISTORY” hence the use of OLD sources is deliberate. It has often been observed that news today has increasingly become more participatory in nature whereby the content generated and provided by the citizens is included by the traditional news media - a phenomenon which was never before heard of (Domingo et al., 2008; Bakker and Pantti, 2009; Nguyen, 2006; Singer, 2006). The shift of the conventional news media to the relatively modern one which relies heavily on citizen generated content and includes various forms of news outlets including the ones run by the citizens themselves via personal news blogs (Scott, 2005; Gordon, 2007; Bruns, 2008). Such drastic and rapid shift in trend is hence often touted by some as the beginning of extinction of the conventional forms of news media (Chaffee and Mertzger, 2001). On either side of the debate are strong proponents and opponents of the ideology which endorses the hypothesis that the rising popularity of citizen owned and managed blogs and participatory journalism in general is likely to be the end of traditional news media (Williams and Delli Carpini, 2004; Singer, 2001; Gilmor, 2004; Singer, 2006; Nguyen, 2006). This study hence seeks to examine and seek solution to the problem posed by the rise of participatory journalism i.e. What are the implications of the rising trend of blogging on traditional news media? and How is participatory journalism likely to affect and influence political and social landscape, if at all? Historically there have been several studies carried out by researchers to analyse and explore the manner in which information or news is generated, consumed and distributed to the public by traditional journalists (Livingstone, 2003; Shoemaker, 1991). The advent of technology has been touted as one of the enabling factors which triggered the change in role and scope of the traditional journalists from gatekeepers which challenged almost all those practices which threatened to alter the conventional system of media practices to a more open form of communication whereby citizen generated content was accepted and acknowledged (Singer, 2006). This change in a way was proposed to have been brought about due to the popularity of internet powered tools of communication such as blogs and social networking sites which made access to news and events around the globe easy for everyone with the required tools. Historically this change was predicted by several researchers generating concern about the state of traditional journalistic practices (Bardoel, 2006). The following paragraph is a gradual transition from the HISTORY of the phenomenon to the current state /phase we are in. After discussing about the origin and rise in popularity of the concept of alternative journalism/ blogging we are now gradually transitioning to the recent DECADE i.e. the period post 2003. If you notice I have used all the sources post the year 2003. In the recent decades the researchers have continued to question and confront the issue of blurring lines between traditional and alternative news media and the manner in which such changing trend is likely to impact the conventional journalist practices (Dueze, Bruns, and Newburger, 2007; Bakker and Pantti, 2009; Domingo et al., 2008; Boczkowski, 2004). The Recent studies indicate that the traditional news media outlets have changed their policies from gatekeepers to gate openers whereby there is a marked deviation from their traditional role of editorial control and censorship has given way to a relatively liberal approach of accepting, welcoming, and utilizing content generated by users / citizens turned producers (Siapera and Veglis, 2012: p. 472). The role of press or journalism in general is likened to that of a ‘fourth estate’ whereby one of its key roles and moral responsibilities is to act as a watchdog for the society at large and ensure a sound and well-functioning democracy (Macnamara, 2010: p. 229). A responsibility of such great magnitude is likely to have far ranging implications if and when challenged. Traditional journalism is often described as a group of corporate organizations which control and manage the manner in which information, news or events are publicized and communicated to the public. Such information put forward by the traditional journalists are by default, regarded as honest, sincere and in the best interest of the public; however the corporate structure and approach of these very news outlets poses a paradox to its claim of offering selfless service to the public (Schudson, 2003). The rise of the internet and the emergence of the social media along with the invention of range of gadgets supported by the internet technology however brought about significant transformations within the traditional journalistic landscape. Research suggests that more and more people today are now turning to the internet for information concerning events around the world. According to statistics made available by Pew Research Center (2013b) over 50 per cent of Americans in public cities today rely on the internet as their key source of accessing national and international news, albeit below the popular mass media source i.e. television but far above other print mass media such as newspapers, and radio. Figure 2: Main source of National and International News among Americans Source: Pew Research Center (2013b). The above figures indicate the level of acceptability and dependability of users on online news sources as compared to the once popular traditional print media. The trend is even more significant among the younger population who are now turning to citizen generated content for news rather than the traditional journalists. The research also indicated that increased access to tablets and smartphones has further fuelled the trend of relying on online sources of news among the users. Approximately 64 per cent of tablet owners and 62 per cent of smart phone users acknowledged the use of their devices for accessing news online in the previous year. Moreover the increasing reliance on online sources of news i.e. citizen generated content was also attributed to the dwindling confidence in the credibility of traditional news media to publish and portray news as is. Almost 65 per cent of those interviewed as a part of the study conducted by Pew Research Center (2013b) considered internet as more reliable source of news as compared to traditional news outlets which they described as politically biased. 73 per cent of those interviewed stated that they found citizen generated content more sincere since the traditional news media tend to present news in a more complicated form and focus on unimportant issues, while 81 per cent of them believed that the news published or broadcast by the traditional media was largely controlled by powerful people, hence is highly likely to be biased (Pew Research Center, 2012b). Scott (2005) states that although the rise in alternative media has offered various benefits to the society, including the independence and freedom to communicate ones perspective for every individual, the concept of citizen journalism or participatory journalism however has given rise to a new trend called disruptive journalism (p. 93). The difference in approach of producing and distributing news between the alternative and traditional media sources has widened the gap between the citizens and the traditional journalists resulting in growing dissatisfaction among the general population i.e. consumers of the news (Rosen, 1994; Witt, 2004). One of the most notable changes brought about by news blogging is the fact that as opposed to the traditional journalistic model which was highly rigid and restricted the participation of the public to editorials or letters which were occasionally published in the mainstream media, participatory journalism enables greater interaction from the public and has now become relatively more interactive (Nip, 2006). The rising popularity of the news blogs could also be largely attributed to the fact that the alternative news media engages the consumers by treating them as conversational partners as opposed to the traditional media where the role of the public is largely restricted to that of a passive listener. The alternative news media uses stories and personal observations to communicate news or discuss events around the globe or near them, inviting their opinions and stirring up discussions and debates thus encouraging interpretation. The traditional media on the other hand does not seek or intend to seek the consent or opinion of the public but present information as the sole truth. The consumers in the networked era according to Russell (2013) have an increased ability to witness and report on news reports akin to that of the traditional news media, hence they are no longer trapped in the paradigm of the conventional media but instead feel liberated by the tools available at their disposal. Such increased liberty afforded to the general public today due to the innovative communication technologies, has opened the gates of journalism to one and all, blurring the lines between traditional and citizen / participatory journalists and in the process raising concerns regarding the implications of the same on society at large (Beckett, 2013; Berry, 2008). According to Livingston and Bennett (2003) the increased liberty and interactivity afforded by the contemporary communication technologies has opened the gates of journalism to one and all blurring the lines between traditional and citizen journalists and in the process raising serious concerns regarding the implications of the same on the society at large. Bibliography: Bakker, P. & Pantti, M. (2009). Misfortunes, memories, and sunsets Nonprofessional images in Dutch news media. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 12, (5): p. 471-489. Barodoel, J. (1996). 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