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Posted by Kate Butler Apr 30, 2007 |
Two weeks ago CNN proudly announced that it had the first exclusive video of the massacre at Virginia Tech. Although this video had been shot on the camera phone of a student at the school, CNN was heralding the piece as if they had been the ones to shoot it themselves. This incident is merely one example of a recent trend towards citizen journalism in the mainstream news outlets.
Six months ago we had another infamous situation where citizen journalism again played an interesting role. At the execution of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad last fall, the cruelty of Saddam’s executors was shown to the entire world, thanks to another camera phone video of a person at the event.
While it is important to note that these are but two of many incidents of citizen journalism in the mainstream news, it is troubling that so many of these cases seem to occur when the news is sensational or scandal-worthy. In the world of celebrity coverage, impromptu videos are what make tabloids and gossip magazines sell incredibly well, and this is, for the most part, to be expected. However, in so-called serious news, it is a bit troubling that we now consider these attempts at citizen journalism as indicative of how individuals are affecting the mainstream news.
One could argue that this recent turn to citizen journalism is liberating and empowering to the masses, as elites can no longer dominate how the news will be covered. While this can sometimes be the case, we can also see the current trend in citizen journalism as a bit more sinister. Ordinary individuals off the street are not dictating the story: they are simply filming what is going on, and selling their home-made movies to the press for obscene amounts of money. The acts of citizen journalism that make the news are not often those that are trying to change problematic societal norms.
While the person who sold his video of the Virginia Tech massacre to CNN was likely just trying to help, this type of journalism does not get to the core of the issues at hand (gun violence in schools in this case), and is not a trend worth celebrating, at least in terms of its’ current direction.