Political Potential of Citizen Journalism Essay

Political Potential of Citizen Journalism - Essay Example In such circumstances when reporting from the place affected by crisis becomes valuable and essential, those who earlier were simple observers take roles of journalists with the help of modern technologies. It makes professional journalists face a serious question about the future of their profession as information is becoming more available and easier to generate. A possibility to disseminate news within a click of a mouse is turning the whole process of information production into a tool of political influence and democracy establishment, and historical events in Eastern Europe and in Arab countries can serve as bright examples of the statement.   However, it is necessary to define what the concept of citizen journalism means as it has appeared quite recently and is still shaping. According to Bowman and Willis, citizen journalism is defined as the media content produced by citizens who take an active role in â€Å"collecting, reporting, and analyzing information and news† (2003, 9). Reasonably, it is the Internet that has played a crucial role in emerging citizen journalist phenomenon. Moreover, technological evolution and fast spread of innovations were important for accidental journalism emergence. A great variety of devices that are charged and plugged rapidly and connected to the Internet within seconds permitted almost every citizen to create some content from posts on Facebook to videos on YouTube. It allowed many people sharing their information instantly and also gave a chance to find the right auditory for this information. And the combination of these two factors: instant and relevant content and those wh o consume it was the primary factor in the phenomenon emergence (Bruns, 2005, 1).   The appearance of citizen journalism is closely connected to the introduction of digital culture.