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Grocott’s Mail Citizen Journalism Course
Elvira van Noort
Course 1 - 2010
What is Citizen Journalism?
The act of a citizen, or group of citizens, playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information. The intent of this participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires - Chris Willis and Shayne Bowman
Citizen Journalism is rooted in the
real lives of citizens and serves the interests of citizens
- Douglas McGill (NY Times reporter)
A citizen journalist can give a refreshing perspective on a public problem
A citizen journalist can give a voice to smaller communities
There is no formal journalistic workflow
What qualities and talents does a CJ have?
Qualities & Talents
• To defend the rights of ordinary people• An interest in life and the world around you • Always prepared to learn something new• Love of language – grammar/ spelling• The ability to express ideas clearly and concisely • News sense – a nose for news/ ability to
separate relevant facts from irrelevant information / identify a news hook
• A suspicious mind• Curiosity
Qualities & Talents
• Determination – be polite but persistent • Dedication• Friendliness• Reliability/ Punctuality• Resourcefulness• Objective / Fair - Good sense of ethics and
what is right or wrong• Numeracy• Audience Awareness
PASSIONPASSION
You might have a passion for peace, justice and democracy…
You might have a natural desire to share an experience or your knowledge…
…but you need to remember that
it is always your first job to report as opposed to argue or give opinions
Reporting = observing the world and listening to the views of others with an open mind, and then reporting those observations and views as accurately as possible
The Importance of Reporting
• Facts – verified observations• Give readers a factually-grounded report• Leave the reader with the feeling he knows
more about the world and how it works • The reader can use the information in your
story to become a better informed citizen
So… for every article you write, prepare yourself to go out into the world to observe and listen carefully, with an open heart and mind
Subordinate your own emotions and beliefs to what you see and hear - record your observations as accurately as you can
Are your observations news?What is news?
IMPACT
IMMEDIACY
PROMINENCE
EMOTIONS
PROXIMITY
NOVELTY
CONFLICT
Which story is more newsworthy?
• A drunk student was injured after his car hit a tree last week/ yesterday
• A donkey in High Street bit its owner / A man in High Street bit his donkey
• The mayor / owner of a B&B argues that local unemployment figures are untrue
• Sunnyside / Port Alfred has been without water for three days
News Judgement = ability to determine which news is most interesting and important to your readers
Where would you run these stories?
Grocott’s Mail / Daily Sun / Mail & Guardian
• The Dutch government collapsed after disagreeing about the Afghanistan mission
• A RU professor resigned Tuesday after winning R5 million in the Lotto
• A man claims that a doctor tried to cure him of TB by sucking out his brain
Easy?
Generating story ideas is probably more difficult…
• Breaking News Events• Scheduled Events• Suggestions from readers or family & friends• Your own ideas
Ask yourself…
…why are there three bulldozers in my street?…what does that mean?…how does a camera obscura work?…when will the whole of G’town have water?…who is in charge of ID books?…where do the street kids sleep?
EXAMPLES
• Static electricity – what is it?• Empty beds in Soweto B&B’s – how come?
Questions? Anyone?
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