Citizen and Community Journalism | Midterm Exam

 1.) Differentiate citizen journalism and community journalism in only 6-10 sentences.

Citizen journalism is conducted by people who are ‘not professional journalists’, they also disseminate information in various platforms like social media. The focus of citizen journalism is capturing the first-hand information that may not be covered by traditional media. It can provide diverse perspectives into local or global events, but sometimes it creates concerns because of lack of professionalism and even in fact-checking their own contents.

While community journalism on the other hand, is grown by professionals with ‘Locally oriented’ professionalism. It works within a specific geographic community focusing on local news, events, and issues. Community journalism emphasizes the needs of a particular community that are relevant to its residents. Unlike citizen journalism, community journalism typically focuses on professional journalistic standards and ethics, including fact-checking, editorial oversight, and verification.

2.) Choose a unique local issue which you think can be resolved by community journalism and why. Explain in 6-10 sentences.

Aside from issues like waste management and traffic problems, one of the concerns in my community, when I interviewed some residents, is the problem of 'spaghetti wires' from internet and telephone providers. This year alone, there have been several reported accidents due to the laying of internet cables. According to an investigation that was conducted, there are internet providers who do not clean the lines and just leave the cables after they have been cut. This is alarming because some people have died here due to hanging on them. Up to now, the local government has not taken any action to address it, nor has any internet company been held responsible for the death of an individual caused by a motor accident. 

Community journalism can play an essential role in this, as it can provide community engagement and open dialogue. It can also help hold stakeholders accountable for their actions.