On Citizen Journalism

and New Media

BY TONYO CRUZ

FOR THE CEBU BLOG CAMP

CAP BUILDING, CEBU CITY
MAY 22, 2010
 Why we become citizen
journalists

1. WE HAVE RIGHTS

2. WE LOVE TO TELL STORIES

3. WE WANT TO SHARE INFORMATION AND INSIGHTS

4. WE HAVE THE TOOLS

 A reminder about rights

THERE IS NO SPECIAL “RIGHT” FOR JOURNALISTS AND

BLOGGERS, PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS AND CITIZEN
JOURNALISTS

THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO INFORMATION, OR THE

RIGHT TO KNOW, BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE

ALSO COMES WITH RESPONSIBILITIES!

Honesty is still the best policy.

IT IS FALSE THAT BLOGS AND BLOGGERS ARE NOT

GOVERNED BY ANY SET OF ETHICAL RULES.

NO RULES? THAT’S THE DUMBEST IDEA EVER.

The 3 basic rules of news
reporting

1. ACCURACY

2. ACCURACY

3. ACCURACY
Think of the ways you tell a
story to…

1. YOUR PARENTS
2. YOUR SIBLINGS
3. YOUR FRIENDS
4. YOUR PARTNERS
 5W, 1H

BASIC CONTENT OF OUR STORIES

EDITORIALIZING OR COMMENTING IS SECONDARY

IF YOU WANT TO PRIORITIZE MAKING COMMENTARIES,

QUIT ON CITIZEN JOURNALISM
 What is news?

Any one of these Or perhaps a combination

Sex Something new

Something weird Personality
Importance Prominence
Relevance Conflict
Effect Proximity
 Comparing old and new

Old media New media

Professional journalists Audience becoming the

gather and report the media themselves
news they deem Individuals, small
newsworthy
Big, staff capital
groups work
needed Getting
Highly-commercialized commercialized
Limited in scope Growing in scope
Elitist, influential Elitist, influential
 Limitations of old media

ARE TOO BIG.

WE OFTEN ARE IGNORED. THEY HAVE LIMITED SCOPE.

THEY RECYCLE NEWS.

AUDIENCE, US, MOVING FORWARD TO TAKE NEWS TO A

NEW LEVEL
How “new” is new media

OLD MEDIA IS ELITIST IN TOPICS, LANGUAGE, SCOPE,

CIRCULATION AND OUTLOOK.

BEING NEW MEANS MORE DEMOCRATIC, PROVIDING

SPACE AND VOICE TO OTHERS
Be the best of both worlds
STRIVE TO BE CREDIBLE AND TO MAINTAIN CREDIBILITY

REJECT NEW MEDIA PAYOLA; DON’T ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE

BRIBED

BE DIFFERENT, BE BETTER THAN OLD MEDIA!

Our tools, our new media

BLOGS, TWITTER, PLURK, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE, QIK,

USTREAM.TV, JUSTIN.TV, FLICKR, PICASA, TUMBLR,
YAHOO MEME, POSTEROUS – AND DON’T FORGET SMS
 No computer needed!

A 3G MOBILE PHONE IS YOUR BEST BET!

ALL ARE AVAILABLE ON MOBILE

COMPELS YOU TO POST IMMEDIATELY, AND TO KEEP

THINGS SHORT AND SWEET 
Best way to go? Go live!

•LIVE TWEETING
•LIVE BLOGGING
•LIVE STREAMING
Tips and techniques
TAKE DOWN NOTES

USE THE PRESS RELEASE AS A GUIDE

WRITE, REPORT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

CHECK AND RECHECK FACTS

 We can do these!
START A RADIO STATION: PODCASTS

START A TV STATION: LIVE STREAM

START A NEWSPAPER: VIA BLOGS, MICROBLOGS

Work in pairs or in groups

ALWAYS BETTER THAN WORKING ALONE.

YOU WILL HAVE MORE FUN, AND YOU CAN ASK OTHERS
TO HELP YOU COVER AND UNDERSTAND AN EVENT
Best practices

BLOGWATCH.PH

#JUANVOTE

INDYMEDIA

DEMOTIX
Expanding the audience

BUILD YOUR COMMUNITY.

OLD MEDIA WILL NOTICE

YOU MAY BECOME THE NEWS

 What to watch out for

UNCHECKED ABUSES BY BLOGGERS TO RESULT IN LOW

CREDIBILITY

MIMICKING OLD MEDIA, PAYOLA, “BUSINESS”-

DIRECTED OPERATIONS
Is it difficult? Is it worth it?
NOT REALLY AND YES!

POTENTIAL AUDIENCE:
25M FILIPINO NETIZENS

MORE ABROAD
MARAMING SALAMAT!

HTTP://TONYOCRUZ.COM

HTTP://ASIANCORRESPONDENT.COM

HTTP://JUANVOTE.COM