By the people for the people.

Or: What the hell is citizen journalism, and how do I do it?

What is citizen journalism

Wikipedia says:• Citizen journalism is the concept of members

of the public ‘playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analysing, and disseminating news and information.’

• Is Wikipedia a reliable source?

A perfect example of citizen journalism

What you need to be a citizen journalist

• A pen• A pad• A mobile phone (optional)• The internet (optional)

• The internet– The internet has fuelled the rise of citizen

journalism by making media more accessible.

OhmyNews

http://english.ohmynews.com/

Wiki News

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Main_Page

Indy Media

www.indymedia.org.au

360 News

http://www.360ne.ws/

The Guardian: Collaborative journalism

http://mps-expenses.guardian.co.uk/

What makes news?

• News values: Proximity Impact Conflict Timeliness Weirdness Currency

•The 5 W’s and the H: Who What Where When Why How

What you need to know. Boring (but important) stuff

• Attribution– Who did you talk to?

• Objectivity– Objectivity vs. Subjectivity

• Defamation– Can you prove it?

• Ethics• Tense• Credibility

How to tell a story

• Most important stuff first• Always introduce sources/ talent• News – Short sharp style• Feature – Conversational but interesting

How to find a story

• Stay informed• Read the paper• Talk to people• Twitter• Notice boards• Magazines• Follow a crowd• Luck

The impact of social media on citizen journalism

• Blogs– Wordpress– Tumblr– Posterous – What I’ll be using today

• Twitter• Citizen journalism websites

Social media has given people an outlet

How twitter can help

• It’s a great way to advertise yourself• A great aggregator• Can be source of tip-offs

• If you organise it correctly (lists ect) it’s a really easy way to access lots of different content.

Twitter clients

• A majority of twitter users don’t access the service through the website.

• Find a client that suits how you use twitter• Clients: There are hundreds of different ones– Tweetie– Tweetdeck– Seesmic– Hootsuite

The art of twitter

• Don’t post rubbish, you’ll lose followers.• Keep it simple – You’ve only got 140

characters.• Don’t chase followers, respect them.• Keep your innocence. • Be different – or at least try.• Don’t try too hard• Don’t sell out to commercial competitions

Multi-platform journalism

• Journos will now head out alone and be expected to return with images, audio and video of their story.

• The web provides us with a platform for these different types of media.

• Use whatever medium you feel most comfortable in.

From source to screen

You can get your pictures, audio and video from your story to a blog in less than 10 minutes without a computer.

– You will need• An e-mail capable mobile• A blog (I’m using a Posterous account)

The best from the rest

• There are a few quick things you can do to make your stuff stand out– Photos

• Exposure• Rule of thirds

– Audio• Good volume• No wind

– Video• Still as possible• Have interviewee looking into empty space

Don’t forget

• Ask questions, a lot of questions.• Get people to spell their names.• People like bright colours and pictures.• Be objective.• Don’t defame anyone.• Don’t feel limited.