For the idea of the community members to produce the news that they want to read would create a wider range of readers. It would give the members of the community the power to put what they want on the news site and become a journalist in their own way.
On the other hand, as I am going into Journalism, is this something that I would want to have happen? Now community members who went to football games can produce their stories and photos, they can also get the leading stories in town meetings and hearings on the news. So what exactly would happen to my job if this idea of citizen-journalism goes nation wide and takes over the newspapers?
If we have a many-to-many communication structure, does it make sense for a group of reporters and editors to make decisions about what is news and then report that news to the public in a unidirectional way? How can professional journalists harness this emerging power (of their readers) and use it to enhance the environment for everyone? It is a complex and exciting time.
ReplyDeleteChristine Tracy