Citizen Journalism

Citizen journalism, in simple terms, refers to the reporting of news by the general public, as opposed to professional journalists. The concept of citizen journalism is based on citizens who play a dynamic role in the process of news collecting, reporting, editing, and distributing it to other public. It is different from professional journalism and traditional reporting. This kind of journalism needs no graduation from a professional course. The requirements are simple. The citizen simply has to have a smartphone and basic writing skills; And more importantly a social media account in today’s age. Citizen journalists produce news in many forms, ranging from a podcast editorial to a report about a public meeting on a blog, and is usually digital in nature. It can also include text, pictures, audio, and video. Social media plays a major role in disseminating news and promoting citizen journalism content. If you want to be a citizen journalist, you need to share your work with the world, and social media is the best place to start.

Citizen journalism can be a simple reporting of facts and news that is largely ignored by media companies. It is easily spread through personal websites, blogs, microblogs, social media and so on. Some types of citizen journalism also act as a check on the reporting of professional news outlets by providing alternative analysis.

Today, the rapid growth of the internet has contributed to the evolution of citizen journalism. Since the general public has 24/7 access to technology, citizens are often the first on-scene for breaking news, getting these stories out more quickly than traditional media reporters.

Despite its vast impact on our daily news, however, citizen journalism is not without its flaws. The biggest concern is the reliability of news, including fact-checking and the risk of incorrect information being disseminated. Unlike professional journalists, citizen journalists may not have conducted the same background research and source verification, which can make these leads less reliable.

That being said, Mokokchung Times would encourage our citizens to engage in citizen journalism. As a formal media house, we highly support citizen journalism and we are always open to engaging in collaborative journalism with citizens. A professional journalist may not be able to cover every event happening in the town or bring to light all issues that affect the ordinary citizens. We believe that, if the citizens would come forward to engage in citizen journalism, we can together build a more informed citizenry, a more open society and, most importantly, a better democracy. We can, together, enthuse transparency in governance. Mokokchung Times is ever ready to offer space and platform to citizen journalists who wish to break news, expose corruption, promote local talents or contribute towards our collective growth and wellbeing.