Citizen Journalism

By Karen Roussy

Pamphleteer Thomas Paine...

Radical propagandist and voice of the common man

Active in local affairs

January 10, 1776, he published a short pamphlet, Common Sense

Provoked considerable controversy throughout his career as a “citizen journalist”

Federalist Papers

Authored by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay

series of 85 articles or essays

published serially in The Independent Journal

More focused on “reacting” to the news

– rather than “reporting” the news

With the tragedy of 9/11 many

ordinary citizens became

on-the-spot witnesses and

their stories and images became

a major part of the story.

Citizen Journalism was an integral part and played an important role in:

Iraq War

London Bombings

2004 Tsunami

Hurricane Katrina

Design - keep it simple!

Consistency – be consistent with posts!

Value – ensure value for readers!

Delivery – switch it up! Look at different methods of delivery – audio, text, video, guests posts

Create a Buzz...use as many Social Media tools as possible to promote your blog - ,

and to name a few – the more exposure, the better

Tags - allow people and search engines to find your content easier

What do you want to achieve?

Do you want to give relationship advice? Comment on politics? Tell people how to garden? Provide updates on news stories?

One of the most important things a blogger can do is decide who their audience is.

Develop a content strategy

Choose your subject matter

Ensure that you have at least a month of content to ensure that your blog can be updated regularly

Utilize guest bloggers

Link to other digital influences in your posts to ensure you are part of the broader online conversation on your chosen topic

Don’t write over your reader’ heads.

Speak to your target audience

Don’t try to be everything to everyone

Provide unique, high quality content

Be clear

Simplify

Provide value