The danger of citizen journalism

More often then not, the first pictures from most major news story come from everyday people. The mumbai attacks in India, the crashing of a plane in the Hudson river, etc. Members of the public in the right place at the right time. Most people celebrate this organic form of journalism without considering the dangers involved.

Ask yourself, who is responsible for the risks taken by citizen journalists who become ‘accidental’ reporters in dangerous situations? Traditional journalists are usually offered some kind of protection; ordinary people aren’t. They don’t have any kind of news organisation or union of journalists to fight for them or condemn actions taken against them.

Take the example of the bloggers in China who raised the scandal of poor building standards after the earthquake last year. They broke the story, put pressure on the authorities and appeared to open up Chinese society. Six months later when the world was looking elsewhere, a number of them were arrested and more restrictions were put on Chinese bloggers