Citizen Journalism: A Change In its Perception May Augment its Dimensions
With the advent of the internet, the globe has become a tiny place to live in and the world of journalism has undergone a sea of changes in the recent past. News, these days are not reaching people faster than ever but they are real time. Everything from a natural calamity to a small incident in the neighborhood has become a breaking news. Journalism, previously a vocation for a selected group of enthusiasts dedicated for social causes has now become a common ground for both professionals and common people with basic knowledge and interest. Though the quality of work differs, quantitatively both the groups are comparable. Every person with a specific feeling about a latest happening is free to express his ideas thanks to the fundamental right, right to freedom of expression and the internet. This kind of journalism is the citizen journalism which has gained prominence in the past few years with many discussion forums, bloggers and news websites encouraging people to express their views on an international platform.
Now -a- days there is no dearth for quality journalism as there are a good number of thorough professionals working in different genres of journalism and one can easily get access to the news both well presented and ably interpreted. But at the same time there are many charlatans in the same field and one should be extremely careful to avoid being misinterpreted by such people. The media industry with its ever growing competition is the most sought after industry and the different kinds of media such as the print, visual and web are keeping the people very busy. At this time is there any need for citizen journalism? The answer is yes and it is absolutely necessary in a democratic country like ours. Every citizen should be aware of all the latest happenings in the country and if possible he should express his ideas and views about them. Many people feel that all the important decisions that a government makes should be taken after people’s consent which is a distant dream considering the present situation. But there is no doubt that people should be well informed and the right to information act affirms the same. So citizen journalism is not only desirable but it is essential to keep the government under the scanner. After all we are the government and we need to watch it work efficiently.
Citizen journalism has increased in many folds and this should be attributed to the increase in the literate population, increased awareness among the people and more importantly the easy availability of the internet which is the major platform for this kind of journalism. People with some idea on a certain topic could express themselves on a common platform.There is a good possibility that the ideas of such well informed people would help others to come to know about some important facts and policies which were unknown to them. Even The government should accept and respect people’s opinions on certain issues. For instance the Telangana issue which has created several problems in Andhra Pradesh may be addressed after taking the people’s opinions in to consideration. There are many other issues that can be solved if the people are given a chance to make their voices heard.
Although citizen journalism has achieved some positive developments in the society its complete effects have not been realized and the reasons for this may be many. One of the main reasons for this may be people’s general tendency to attract and impress others than to induce something in to people which people require the most. This is a bold statement but an article should be either informative or inspirational and it should never be intended to impress someone. Because information and inspiration helps some but impression helps none. Yes, impression does not even help the writer himself because in his quest for impression he may even lose his own identity. So if people start perceiving citizen journalism in the best possible way then the dimension of the change it can bring may increase exponentially.
Waiting for a day when people prefer reality to beauty………..
MALLIKARJUNA RAO KANALA
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