RISE OF CITIZEN JOURNALISM IN NIGERIA
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RISE OF CITIZEN JOURNALISM IN NIGERIA
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study.
Citizen journalism is also known as “public,” “participatory,” “democratic,” “guerrilla,” or “street” journalism. According to Bowman and Willis (2003), this type of journalism involves “the act of a citizen, or group of citizens, playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analysing 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.”
Radsch (2013) vividly captures the spirit and essence of citizen journalism in his definition of the concept as ‘an alternative and activist form of newsgathering and reporting that functions outside mainstream media institutions
often as a respite to shortfalls in the professional journalistic field, that uses similar journalistic practices but is driven by different objectives and ideals and relies on alternative sources of legitimacy than traditional or mainstream
Citizen journalism is the polar opposite of the mainstream media’s tight-lipped, near-unilateral top-down communication model. According to Bowman and Willis (2003), participatory journalism is a bottom-up, emergent phenomena in which there is little to no editorial oversight or conventional journalistic workflow influencing staff decisions.
Instead, it is the outcome of many concurrent, scattered conversations that either blossom or swiftly die in the Web’s social network.” They notice that “the fluidity of this approach emphasises the publication of information rather than the filtering.”
Conversations are held in the community for anyone to watch. In contrast, established news organisations are designed to filter material before publishing it.”
Citizen journalism, by definition, does not allow for gatekeeping. In this type of journalism, information is delivered to members of the public who are actively involved in content creation in its raw, ‘bare’ form.
Over the years, there appears to be some misunderstanding about the definition and nature of citizen journalism. This is clear from the multiple names it has been given, as listed above.
While reflecting on this, Meyer (2005) notes that “one measure of the discomfort that journalists feel over the concept of public journalism is the great variety of names given it, e.g. civic journalism, citizen journalism, community journalism, or communitarian journalism.”
He goes on to say that part of the fault for the misunderstanding must go to the early proponents of public journalism, who have always refused to provide a definition or anything more than a broad theoretical framework.
They argue that a definition would unnecessarily confine an idea that is still being developed. Perhaps so. However, debating public journalism is like to arguing over a Rorschach test. Each sees it as a manifestation of his or her deepest hopes or anxieties.
The uncertainty appears to stem from misunderstandings about what defines citizen journalism and who citizen journalists are. This clarifies why Glaser (2006). Notes that “There is some controversy over the term citizen journalism, because many professional journalists believe that only a trained journalist can understand the rigours and ethics involved in reporting the news.”
In contrast, many trained journalists practise what may be considered citizen journalism by writing their own blogs or commentary online outside of the traditional media hierarchy.
Despite the widespread confusion and misinterpretation, citizen journalism is simply an emerging type of journalism in which the content is user-generated, unfiltered, uncensored, and delivered in real time.
Professor Jay Rosen’s definition, cited in Moller (2012), sheds light on the nature of the citizen journalism concept: “citizen journalism is when people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another.”
As a result, it is clear that a person does not necessarily need previous journalistic training to be a citizen journalist, especially in this day and age when social media is so ubiquitous.
What is required to engage in the rising citizen journalism spectrum is a basic understanding of the operations and manipulations of social media.
Mark (2006), a freelance journalist, explains that the concept behind citizen journalism is that people without professional journalism training can use modern technology and the global distribution of the Internet to create, augment, or fact-check media on their own or in collaboration with others.
For example, you could post about a city council meeting on your blog or in an online forum. Alternatively, you might fact-check a newspaper item from the mainstream media and highlight factual inaccuracies or bias on your blog.
Alternatively, you may take a digital photo of a notable occurrence in your area and share it online. Alternatively, you might videotape a similar event and put it on a site like YouTube. All of these could be called acts of journalism, even if they do not extend beyond simple observation at the scene of an important event.
At a time when Nigerians used the internet to mobilise protests against the elimination of gasoline subsidies, a new academic study published by Oxford University discovered that citizen journalism is on the slow but steady increase in Nigeria, and that traditional media is catching up. The study, which used Sahara Reporters as a case study, identified Sahara Reporters as Nigeria’s first leading citizen journalism website.
Sunday Dare, a Nigerian journalist who previously studied media and public policy at Harvard University, conducted the first objective examination of the theory and practice of citizen journalism in Nigeria, including how far it has progressed
the impact it is having on advancing democratic rights and institutions, and how it has given the people a voice and a platform to question their government.
According to the report, Sahara Reporters excelled in blazing the road, particularly by exposing corruption and combining advocacy journalism with mainstream media.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Nigerian opponents have criticised citizen journalism. Some opponents argue that citizen journalism lacks veracity. Most Nigerians do not accept the stories of citizen journalists. Some believe they disseminate falsehoods. Citizen journalism exacerbates civic unrest, governmental instability, and ethnic-religious conflict.
This line of criticism culminated during the countrywide protests that followed the elimination of fuel subsidies in January 2012. Some feel that citizen journalists deceived activists, prompting them to band together against the government. Regardless of how it was seen, the protest’s goal was partially met when the pump price of fuel dropped dramatically.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The purpose of this investigation is therefore stated as follows:
i. To investigate the function of citizen journalism in Nigeria.
ii. Determine the extent to which Nigeria has adopted citizen journalism.
iii. Evaluate the impact of citizen journalism on promoting good in Nigeria.
iv. Identify the challenges of citizen journalism in Nigeria.
1.4 Research Questions.
In this study, an adequate attempt will be made to address the following questions.
I. What role does citizen journalism play in Nigeria?
ii. To what extent has Nigeria embraced citizen journalism?
iii. How has citizen journalism helped to promote good governance in Nigeria?
iv. What are the challenges for citizen journalism in Nigeria?
1.5 Scope of Study.
The study will primarily focus on ‘Audience Perception of Citizen Journalism in Nigeria – A Case Study of Sahara Reporters’. The study will analyse audience perception taking into consideration Auchi people’s demographic factors such as education background, age, gender, marital status, and so on.
1.6 Significance of the Study
Citizen journalism allows both professional and non-professional journalists to actively participate in news content development. It transforms the general public from helpless passive consumers of news to active participants. They are now content creators.
Citizen journalism has broken the mainstream media’s long-standing monopoly. As such, journalism is now democratic and participative. According to the Educause Learning Initiative (2007), by allowing anybody to cover the news, citizen journalism provides a more personal, nuanced picture of events and has the ability to foster communities of individuals who share a similar interest.
The flexibility of this method emphasises information dissemination rather than filtering. Conversations are held in the community for anyone to watch. In contrast, established news organisations are designed to filter material before publishing it.”
Citizen journalism, by definition, does not allow for gatekeeping. In this type of journalism, information is delivered to members of the public who are actively involved in content creation in its raw, ‘bare’ form.
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