Journalists’ Perception of the Credibility of Citizen Journalism on Social Media Platforms
Chapter One
Objectives of the Study
This study has the following specific research objectives:
- To examine how citizen journalism has affected journalists and their profession
- To highlight the possible threats the credibility of citizen journalism pose to journalism practice.
- To find out how professional journalists perceive the credibility of citizen journalism
- To find out why credibility is a major issue in citizen journalism.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Social Media and Communication: An Overview
Social media are modern interactive communication channels through which people connect to one another, share ideas, experiences, pictures, movies, messages and information of common interest. They are social interactive networks which information and communication technologies (ICTs) bequeathed to the modern society through the instrumentality of the internet and the communication engineered gadgets.
Social media have become very popular means of both interpersonal and public communication in Nigeria and the world at large (Awake, 2011). As the influence of emergent social media continues to increase, individual members of publics are starting to demand participatory communication with and from organizations (Kang, 2010; Edelman, 2008). The use of the social media has become widely recognized by people of all ages and geographical dispensations (Kim and Johnson, 2009). People rely on the internet as a source of information, and as a way of getting fast information
The great influence of the ICTs on human communication was hailed by Edogor (2008, p.1) when he opined that one of the monumental innovations which happens in this century is Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). These facilitate human communication at both interpersonal and mass communication levels. The novel innovation gave birth to the computer which in turn begot the internet that has transformed the hitherto existing mass media.
This, perhaps made Oyero (2007, p.169) to aver that, “the traditional lines between media are disappearing.” The internet has eroded the distinctions among media, thus merging them up into one. Also, on the contribution of the internet to mass media messages, Agu (2011, p.131) succinctly asserts that:
The internet makes it possible to expand the networks and to increase the possibilities for communicating with wider audiences on the globe. The invention and the introduction of the internet…have allowed breaking news stories to reach around the globe within minutes. This has given rise to what is known as “cross-media” which means the distribution of same message through different channels.
In fact, it is a common knowledge that breaking news has become synonymous with the Social media. Before the reporter gets his pen to paper, the social sites are awash with the stories being reported. The social media trend particularly, is significantly repositioning the entire media world in a phenomenal pattern. Constant accessibility, availability and ease of use are the most visible advantages of the new media over the conventional ones. This accounts for their unprecedented popularity all over the world. Also, the ubiquity of the social media within their short period of arrival is unparalleled in the annals of media industry. Awake! (2011, p.24) buttress this point by noting that “Social networking has become hugely popular. Consider this: It took 38 years for radio to reach 50 million users, 13 years for television to attract the same number, and 4 years for the internet to do so. The social networking site Facebook gained 200 million users in a 12-month period!”
In recent times, the social media have come to raise credibility questions. For instance, there was a time the social media reported the supposed deaths of Chimaroke Nnamani, Sullivan Chime, Olusegun Obasanjo, Liyel Imoke amongst other. The social media then carried catchy headlines and photos of such rumored deaths. Today, these people are very much alive. However, there are stories reported by the social media that actually passed the credibility test.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The study employed survey method to examine journalists’ perception of the credibility of citizen journalism on social media platforms.
Sources of data
The data for this study were generated from two main sources; Primary sources and secondary sources. The primary sources include questionnaire, interviews and observation. The secondary sources include journals, bulletins, textbooks and the internet.
Population of the study
A study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitute of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description (Prince Udoyen: 2019). In this study the study population constitute of journalists in media houses in Uyo. The Censor and The Pulse Newspapers representing the Print media, Nigerian Television Authority (N.T.A), Akwaibom Broadcasting Corporation (A.K.B.C) and Planet FM representing the Broadcast media.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION
Personal Information
Experience. The questionnaires have been distributed among 50 journalists working in Uyo, divided into three strata on the basis of their journalism experience, viz., freshers, mid-career journalists and senior journalists. The former two strata carry 17 respondents each, while the latter carry 16 respondents.
CHAPTER FIVE
Conclusion
This study analyzed the journalists’ perception of the credibility of citizen journalism on social media platforms. The data collected during the study reveals that not many challenges are posed by citizen journalism to mainstream journalism. The majority of the journalists, irrespective of their journalism experience, believe that citizen journalism does not pose any imminent threat to mainstream journalism since it is just in its formative years. Mainstream media is believed to enjoy more authenticity and credibility among the audience because of its elaborate and wellestablished system of functioning, in which the emphasis remains on accuracy and responsibility. The audience prefers news products by professional journalists over the citizen journalism content. This is a clear indication that citizen journalism can never replace professional journalism, but can only complement it. So the thought that professional journalists nowadays have to compete with citizen journalists is nothing but a myth. The main difference between mainstream journalism and citizen journalism is voluntary nature of work. Citizen journalism is participatory in nature while mainstream journalism is highly professional. The latter is more than mere reporting of facts. So any person with a pen or camera in hand cannot become a professional journalist unless trained in skills of observation, understanding, expression and responsibility. Citizen journalism content is usually of average quality and rarely possesses news values, while citizen journalists rarely follow journalistic ethics. This also reduces the threat of citizen journalism to mainstream journalism.
The biggest challenge seen by some respondents is that citizen journalists can sometimes break news on the Internet even before professional journalists. This has reduced the dependability of the general audience on mainstream media. Some respondents say even if they have not come across breaking news stories by citizen journalists, there are instances where the content provided by them has become the first clue for professional journalists’ stories. At times, a sense of insecurity creeps in the professional journalists when they see citizen journalists breaking the stories and hogging the limelight. But instead of seeing it as a threat, it must be seen as an opportunity to raise the bar further and bring an improvement in one’s own work. The best response to challenges, if any, posed by citizen journalists to professionals is to encourage them to do better, and work in tandem with them for bigger and greater impact. Citizen journalism has been and can always be used as a news source by mainstream media. It supplements the work of mainstream journalists. Citizen journalists scratch the surface, while professional journalists move in to complete the job. Even though citizen journalists have come up with some breaking news stories on certain occasions, mainstream journalists still enjoy more credibility, authenticity and popularity among the audience than the former.
The maximum number of respondents suggest citizen journalism should be encouraged for the future and believe that it is going to stay given the advances in new media technologies, such as camera phones, camcorders, blogs, social networking and media-sharing websites, and so on. Citizen journalism, in the coming days, is believed to become more accessible to people worldwide, since more and more people are becoming techno-savvy. Besides, some established news organisations, like CNN-IBN and others give a good space to citizen journalism content and seek citizen inputs (text/photos) about public issues. So citizen journalism is believed to grow in future with mainstream media outlets constantly encouraging it.
The majority of the respondents surveyed feel that citizen journalism has changed the concept of journalism for the better. It provides ordinary citizens with an opportunity to highlight the genuine issues that may be skipped by professional journalists. Citizen journalism, thus, adds value to the mainstream news coverage by bringing to light the issues at the grassroots level that are otherwise overlooked by big media outlets. Nowadays even reputed media organisations use citizen journalism content in their newscasts and documentaries. The content is believed to hold high significance in the contemporary times, even if its quality is low. Citizen journalism is a pathbreaking concept that makes a consumer a contributor. It gives citizens the power to express themselves and participate in social and political change.
Contrarily, some respondents have presented the other side of citizen journalism. They believe it has had more negative than positive effects on the concept of journalism. It has given rise to what some people call “journalism of assertion.” It means unsubstantiated opinion and rumor is passed on as fact, which harms journalistic credibility. There is also lack of restraint among online writers. The citizen journalists may violate the ethical standards and sensationalize stories in the absence of gatekeeping. There is also confusion as to whom to call a journalist, when anyone can publish. Citizen journalists do not abide to the traditional news values. They also show little knowledge of concepts like newsworthiness. Since they are not obliged to follow the framework of social media, their works tend to be less credible. Besides, there is a tendency of plagiarism as far as citizen journalism content is concerned. At times citizen journalists have also been found to upload unethical content. Some respondents say citizen journalists tend to focus only on one side of the issue or development, hence making the story unbalanced. The stories are heavily slanted in some cases. Citizen journalists many a time sensationalize things in an unethical manner. In quite some cases, one can find a citizen journalist transgressing ethical, professional and even legal standards either out of ignorance or willfully with malicious intent.
Most of the respondents believe that implementation of gatekeeping to citizen journalism content is a must to ensure its credibility. They stress upon having a proper mechanism to filter the news content, be it in the form of text or images, posted by citizen journalists. The details presented by citizen journalists should be verified and cross-checked from multiple sources and edited by professional editors before making them public. The job of citizen journalists must be to lead mainstream journalists to news that is inaccessible to the latter. Some respondents suggest that citizen journalists should be taught the basic and the most vital journalistic ethics to ensure credibility of the citizen journalism content. The organisations offering citizen journalism platform, be it websites, television news channels or newspapers, should start journalism classes for citizen journalists to educate them with journalistic ethics. The need for accurate, fair and balanced dispatches should be emphasized. Some respondents suggest that an independent body should be constituted to check the authenticity of the information drafted by citizen journalists.
All the journalists surveyed have access to new media technologies, while the majority of them access all/most of the forms of new media technologies. Most of the respondents have access to new media from five to ten years. Besides, majority of the respondents often access citizen journalism content, with most of them accessing the content on online media. The majority of the respondents have access to all types of citizen journalism content, which specifies a growing inclination of journalists towards a democratic journalistic platform in the form of citizen journalism.
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