Citizen and Community Journalism Midterm Exam | Althea Torres

1. In 6 to 10 sentences, differentiate citizen journalism and community journalism in your own words. 

Citizen journalism is often participated by the citizens wherein when they see something newsworthy, using their phones they can record what is happening and write a ‘news’ about it or simply what they observe in that situation. Sometimes, this is called “accidental journalism.” There is no proper training required for a citizen journalist to produce news– no gatekeepers, editors, or bigger organizations to monitor the contents of the news. 

On the other hand, community journalism happens when an individual, or a journalist, exposes himself in a particular community to find a deeper consciousness in an issue that needs to be introduced to the public and to the authorities. Community journalists give a better perspective to a story regarding an issue because they get to experience it firsthand, in a period of time. They are able to highlight specific details that would be important to the story as community journalists are usually trained professionally on how to produce news.

Usually, the news produced by citizens end up in primetime news while community journalism stories are usually featured in documentaries. Community journalism brings light to the issues that are usually neglected by the mainstream media. 

2. Choose a unique local issue that you think can be addressed/resolved through community journalism and explain why, in your own words in 6 to 10 sentences. 

Education is a privilege. Going to school is a privilege.

A unique local issue that I think can be addressed through community journalism is the flawed financial assistance program by the government, specifically scholarships. Despite having free tertiary education to state universities and colleges, some students are still struggling to fund their education due to the high cost of commodities along with low minimum wages. Which is why they try to get financial help from scholarships– with such unreasonable requirements, especially those from the local government, like voter certification and proof that you are indeed ‘indigent’. Some trust their luck while some rely on the “palakasan system” as these scholarships do not guarantee their admission. Through community journalism, I want to follow a story of a student who applies for a scholarship and their struggle to fulfill those requirements, which as well cost a lot. This story can bring light to how education is indeed a privilege and how these absurd requirements contribute to some students just dropping out of school due to extreme financial struggles. This story could also branch to the issues of unemployment due to unreasonable job qualifications from some employers in the Philippines.