Although the new technology of citizen journalism through journalism brings new perspectives and opinions, there is no true way to know what information perceived is valid or not. Validity plays a major role in blogging today in term’s of the authenticity of one’s work. Citizen journalism can contain a mass amount of biased opinion and questionably valid information. With technology and the widespread of bloggers today, non-professionals have the access of identifying whether legitimate looking posts and their author are indeed reliable. Let’s take into account the Rathergate Scandal.

Dan Rather. A trustworthy anchor for CBS’ program titled 60 Minutes. Claiming to have authentic and unique material in terms of the upcoming presidential election, Rather reported four separate documents of how Bush refused to partake in a physical test in means to avoid obligatory tasks enrolled in the National Guard originally written by his commander Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian. These documents were broadcasted and reported on air by Rather less than two months before the presidential election of 2004.

Once reported, online writers in the blogosphere began to notice subtle details in the documents. Such as the font size and spacing. The documents were claimed to be written in the 70’s, yet when bloggers began to investigate by transferring the documents onto Microsoft Word, they began noticing that the spacing and fonts could not have been done on a typewriter of the time. On September 15, 2004, CBS’ president Andrew Hayward made the claim that, “We established to our satisfaction that the memos were accurate or we would not have put them on television.” CBS continued to support the fact that the documents they reported on were legitimate.

Yet with so much controversy and questioning, CBS investigated and could no longer uphold their defense of the legitimacy of the documents and launched a full blown analysis of errors within the document. After a thorough investigation had been completed in January of 2005, CBS announced the resignation of many staff members including the step down for Rather from the position of anchor.

Bloggers, or so called fact-checkers, are making more and more of an impact in the online community of today. Finding what information is valid and reliable that is out online for the world to view and process. Our world is so media literate and citizen journalism is giving everyone a chance to be involved in local and global issues.

– Lissy

7 year ago, I remember the exact moment when my dad called me to the living room, appalled by the images he witnessed on TV. Back then, as a politically apathetic teenager, I was unclear of what exactly caused the 7 July 2005 London bombings. In fact, it reminded me of the 911 attacks 4 years prior to the event – I was equally shocked, my mind bombarded with questions. For the next few days, our eyes were glued to the TV and computer.

The bombings on the London public transportation system were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by Islamist terrorists, whose main aim was to harm the civilians and to voice out discontentments towards the British government’s repression of Muslims. 52 people, as well as the 4 bombers, were killed and approximately 700 were injured. The video statement of one of the bombers can be accessed here.

Just like 911 or any other terrorists attacks, images and videos that defined media coverage came not from professional news crews but from everyday people. This drift did not happen overnight. Back in the 90s, the only videos that people contribute were home videos of weddings or babies eating. However, with the influx of camera phones, more and more people began capturing their daily lives through images and videos. Technology and the ease of citizen participation spurred on the emergence of new journalism, which allows for a depth of reporting that most newspaperman have never dreamed of. Commuters caught in the London bombings used their camera phones to take photos and videos that were picked up by mainstream media, and they were eventually relayed across the world. One of these videos can be seen here. This interesting eyewitness perspective and democratisation of the news process marked the true birth of citizenship journalism. Another critical point to note is that new journalism has the capacity to exploit the “time factor” in a better way than traditional methods of reporting. In unpredictable circumstances such as this, citizen contributions become an essential and timely source of information for mainstream media.

Back in July 2005, BBC fully tapped on the resources of citizens to aid in its reporting. The news website provided 24/7 coverage of the attacks and invited eyewitness to send in their own stories. According to BBC, the website received around “30 video clips from members of the public and more than 300 e-mails containing an average of three images each on the day of the attacks.” TV news channels, meanwhile, aired cellphone video footage within half an hour of the explosions. Also, many newspapers published cellphone images on their front pages the day after the attacks.

One interesting point to note is that most of these cellphone images and videos were not of a high quality. But that did not seem to matter, since the public was more concerned with minute facts than professional photography. Here is a gallery of some photos taken by eyewitnesses:

A phone can be used by terrorists to detonate a bomb, just like the Madrid train bombings of 2004. But remember that the same phone in your pocket can do so much more than just being a calling device. It can now be used as weapons against terrorists, by providing vital clues to criminal identities and event happenings.

Just a phone? Think again.

Skyler Guan Wang
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The news media’s coverage of stories and events is no longer accepted as the full truth. Citizen journalists worldwide now know that even stories claiming to be fact checked still convey false or bias information. Luckily, with the tools of new media, these false claims can be exposed and voiced to the general public. Kate and Jessica’s presentation outlined a particular broadcast done by CBS’ 60 Minutes on September 8^th, 2004 in which four documents critical to George W. Bush’s service in the Air National Guard were presented as authentic. Within minutes of the broadcast by Dan Rather, blogs all over the internet began discrediting the documents, mostly based on typography experts concluding their forgery.

Within hours of the segment, the authenticity of the documents was questioned by posters on Free Republic, a conservative Internet forum, and discussion quickly spread to various weblogs in the blogosphere, principally Little Green Footballs and Power Line. The Drudge Report picked up the exposure the following day. The initial analysis appeared in posts by “Buckhead,” a username of Harry W. MacDougald, an Atlanta attorney. MacDougald questioned the validity of the documents on the basis of their typography, writing that the memos were “in a proportionally spaced font, probably Palatino or Times New Roman”. An animated GIF of the altered fonts can be viewed here. CBS subsequently could not back up the authenticity of the documents, and Rather was forced to step down as anchor. You can read his official statement on their falsehood here.

The blogosphere’s response to Dan Rather’s report is a significant example of new media’s ability to critically analyze and respond to mainstream news coverage. In this case, blogs were able to channel the skills of experts (typographers) and fact check a false and bias news source. Not only were the blogs able to expose the false documents, but the mass audience for the blogs allowed for the exposure to be conveyed to a wide range of people, eventually reaching the mainstream media. Blogs and new media provide multiple angles on news stories, specifically a critical analysis of their biasness or constructed frameworks. Bloggers are powerful; all news media will be analyzed and criticized by citizen journalists.

-Alec

Vlogging (short for video blogging) is a term that did not enter the journalism world until quite recently. When people discovered the irresistible concept of using their handheld cameras and SmartPhones to capture current events, the term began to spread and make its way into new media.

One of the very first events ever captured by this type of media was the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, which occurred on December 26th, 2004. It was an underwater earthquake that caused mass destruction in multiple countries in the area with an estimated 230,000 deaths in total, not accounting for the tons of bodies that remain undiscovered. The waves hitting the coast were increasingly strong and tall, the highest wave coming to almost 100 feet. Although there was an apparent lag of about one hour between when the earthquake commenced and the tsunami began, it still came as a shock to most people in the area.

Being that the natural disaster was extremely chaotic, it was impossible for newscasters to get to the scene and broadcast their report on what was going on. Because the event could not properly be covered, it was very difficult for the public to know what was happening. Thankfully, citizens who were around the affected area had cameras and made the influential decision to record what they saw. They then uploaded these videos onto sharing sites such as YouTube, and to this day they can still be watched (video #1 and video #2 are examples of these types of videos).

The biggest appeal of this type of blogging is that it is easy – the only you need to participate is a compact camera with the ability to upload. Although the quality of the videos tend to be less than perfect, it is the idea of being able to record a live event and share it with people in a matter of minutes that makes vlogging a popular technique. Particularly with big happenings such as natural disasters, vlogging can help spread the word and raise awareness towards it.

One big benefit to blogging as opposed to typical news broadcasting is the amount of credibility one receives. In the example of the Sumatra-Andaman disaster, people who recorded the waves hitting the locations could not have manipulated or changed the videos in any way. This makes it easier for the public to get a balanced view on the event, not to mention a front row, commercial-free seat to it.

Vlogging is a type of new media that I believe will continue to thrive as long as SmartPhones and other handheld recording devices continue to exist. It was used in many events to come after 2004, such as Hurricane Katrina. Due to its believable nature and authentic feel, vlogging is a form of media that has the capacity to involve all ages and reach across to people worldwide.

Amy Midanik-Blum

On December 26th, 2004 an earthquake with a 9.1 magnitude hit Sumatra-Andaman; the 6th deadliest earthquake was not the only incident of that day. Roughly an hour after, a Tsunami occurred, creating further damage and more deaths. Although the earthquake was centered in Sumatra-Andaman, it affected most of the other countries in Southeast Asia. Because these natural disasters occurred with little warning, news corporations were unable to report on the initial damages and occurrences. This brings me to the main topic of this post: VLOGS and their impact in the media, specifically relating to the earthquake/tsunami.

Major news corporations were unable to cover the event and therefore people who wanted information about it had to look elsewhere. Blogs and Vlogs became a source of information for people to gather information. With countless videos taken with handheld devices camera phones, they became invaluable resources for news. Not only was there footage of the Tsunami actually happening but it was from the point of view of people actually experiencing it. Most of the videos were poor quality or grainy, but this added to the personal quality that allowed viewers to experience the terror and chaos through the eyes of someone actually experiencing it. Had major news corporations been there to capture video and photographs, it is likely the footage would have been clear, focused and edited, which would not have evoked the emotions the others videos did. Although Youtube was not out at this time, people found ways of sharing their videos and stories- blogs.

The ideas of blogs had been around for a while but this was a new way of using them, to report news. They were a way for citizen journalists to share news that big news companies did not have access to. The bloggers uploaded video footage of the tsunami but did not expect the large amount of traffic their sites received, some bloggers were even fined because they exceeded their bandwidth. In response, aggregate sites jumped in to help, two examples are the waveofdestruction and media bloggers association. This foreshadowed and emphasizes the importance of websites like youtube which hosts many different videos.

Additionally, today there are various websites and systems that have improved the way we communicate and share news. One example of that is twitter, where you can share a thought in  140 characters max. The option to follow other twitterers, allows you to get instant updates in real time. This has been used in the case of natural disasters to keep family members informed of what is going on and to locate missing people. Another example would be Facebook where people post something and simultaneously all of their friends can see it- easier than individually emailing or calling people. I remember in the recent earthquake in Japan my Aunt posted on her Facebook a message confirming that Tommy (my cousin who lives in Japan) was ok. It was a fast and easy way to let everyone know at once that he was safe.

Lastly, I would like to mention the way news sites get hold of personal videos for personal use. Many times news sites will pay people to use video but a comment was made it class about how news sites are trying to get out of paying- for example, CNN has come up with ireport where you can upload news videos to share them with others. This is an easy way to gather news footage from average citizens without paying for it. With the technological advances, it increasingly becomes easier for citizen journalists to report.

Here is a videos of the Tsunami:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9myoVB6m4Wg

McKenna Duffy

Citizen journalism is a concept that is constantly being brought up in our CAP courses. From reading Riverbend’s whiny, yet very inisighful confessions in Baghdad Burning, to  writing our very own blogging entries, we are undoubtedly becoming more and more familiar with this impactful movement in the media. Lissy and Alec’s elucidative presentation described the impact of Where is Raed? on the political blogosphere, and the ever-developing practice of journalism. In their project, they highlighted some very significant aspects of this democratized broadcasting form:

• The first-hand account of events
• The ability to rapidly update a report
• The sincerity of personal experience
• The freedom to go in full detail

Sam Palax’s blog was catapulted to politcal blogoshpere fame as it effectively takes advantages of these four liberties. It constructs a very enticing and informational source for all aspects of the Iraq war. Perhaps his most absorbing medium of reportage is his self-taken real photographs.

In his February 25th, 2004 post, he documents a procession in Baghdad with an array of colourful images. I was particularly interested in this entry as its depiction of Baghdad was very different of the ones usually made by news TV footage. Iraq is usually shown as a gloomy, deserted dystopia. However, Palax’s images remind the viewer that this war-conflicted nation is also home to rich culture and traditions.

The fact that these photos were not staged but rather taken at that precise moment of the procession, makes the viewer feel as if they were present too. It is a truly innovative form of photo journalism, which before, in many occasions, was made up of dated and manipulated photos. Now anyone with a camera phone can be a photo journalist as it provides a quick and effective way to depict crucial information on any event.

 Also, check out how B.A. these kids look.

Talk about swagga goin’ swell.

– Marko Kundicevic

Through Courtney and Sarah’s presentation, I discovered that even in the year 2002, racism and ideas of segregation were very apparent in the United States government. Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott expressed racist remarks during a birthday dinner for pro-segregationist and retired Senator Storm Thurmond (who ran for presidency in 1948 under a pro-segregationist platform), indicating that he himself is also a supporter of segregation.

A young behind-the-scenes reporter for ABC News in Washington named Ed O’Keefe was present at the dinner. He trusted his journalistic ability enough to feel confident in exposing his story on his own, as major news outlet ABC News declined to give the story any air-time due to there being no “on-air reaction”.

O’keefe posted story on ABC News blog “The Note” which gave blogs custody of the story from December 6th – December 10th.  It took around a week for the story to be hyped enough through social media to make it into mainstream news, which emphasizes the importance of social media in the quest for obtaining free and uncensored news.

As the controversy heated up, a parody video was created with a strong emphasis on Lott’s racism and conservative ideology.

Because blogs had power over this story, it allowed them to force the story through an argument test, revealing that Trent Lott had a minuscule amount of followers. This is what ultimately forced his resignation.

As we can see through this event, citizen journalism has the ability to go where mainstream news reporters can not.  It can be spread through outlets such as social networking, increasing the amount of people who are informed of events similar to this.  Had Ed O’Keefe not blogged about what he had experienced, I’m positive that mainstream media would have chosen to not pick up the story seeing that they didn’t in the first place.

A blogger from Baghdad – Not a new concept to us new media students. We’ve spent hours behind Baghdad Burning, loving or hating Riverbend, through all her adventures. Now, our friends Lissy and Alec have brought us Salam Pax, a man who started a blog originally to keep in contact with his friend Raed, but whose posts eventually progressed into full-fledged citizen journalism, straight out of war torn Baghdad, Iraq.

Salam Abdulmunem, known under the pseudonym Salam Pax, or Peace Peace in English (come one, Salam! You can be more creative than that!), was actively writing posts concerning the Iraq war, bombings, and disappearances of people under the government of Sadam Hussein.

What made his blog so successful? Firsthand accounts of what was really going on in Iraq, without editing or filters, the use of photos that were not censored, and multiple posts per day keeping readers up-to-date. Let’s not forget hilarious posts like this one. Oh, Salam!

Come to think of it, the main reason why I spent a good twenty minutes browsing Salam’s blog is because of how funny he is. I mean, really. He is hilarious. Exhibit A: His link to this internet gem. (pictured below)

Right?!

Verdict: Salam Pax is an interesting guy. Somehow, amidst all the turmoil and misery that coat his recollections of war-trodden Baghdad, he manages to throw in some lighthearted posts to remind us that even those in the worst parts of the world can use a laugh once and a while.

Peace Peace to you too, Salam. You deserve it.

– Melissa Kuipers

It baffels me how a senator in the 21st century can have viewpoints that implies a support for segregation policies. In any case, It probably wasn’t too smart for Trent Lott to express such opinions even if it were unconventional methods of news reporting that brough down the Mississippi senator.

“I think there is something to the [notion] of pack journalism…of individuals believing that if something is noteworthy, … everyone will get it… If they didn’t all get it, then it couldn’t possibly be a newsworthy item.” – Ed O’Keefe

So at former Senator Strom Thurmond’s retirement, and 100th birthday party, Lott made the following statement: ”I want to say this about my state. When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn’t have had all these problems over all these years either.” (video). The crowds cheered and reporters thought nothing special of it.

“This is news,” O’Keefe, ”off-air” reporter, said to himself. O’Keefe knew about Strom Thurmond’s presidential campaign in 1948 on segregationist platform and his strong opposition to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He figured this was a huge scoop since being branded a racist is not something a powerful man in politics such as Trent Lott would want.

ABC, however, did not seem to agree that what O’Keefe had pointed out was a worthy news story. The network need reactions that could be aired alongside the statement but people barely seem to have noticed that he said anything at all. Contempt which the attitudes of his coworkers he posted the story on the blog section of ABC’s website; The Note. In less than a week the story broke into the mainstream news media. This eventually put so much pressure on Lott that he was forced to resign his position as senator. Interestingly enough, Lott was reelected as senator in 2006, although he retired a year later.

This really shows how the internet allows for the inclusion of the stories that go unnoticed by the mainstram media and how blogs can provide a critical view on some of the shortcomings of mainstream journalists.In blogger Jolie O’Dell’s article she writes about some of the differences between a blogger and a journalist. For, example a blogger has the luxury of being able to provide opinion to their material and do not have any obligtions to their sources. While this might be seen as negative attributes it can provide an indefinate amount of different viewpoints which can help shape our view on the bigger picture.

Oh, a little fun-fact about Thurmond to end the week; when he was 22 he had a secret affair with a black maid of 16 who gave birth to a daughter. Interesting to think about how this affected his political career.

– Steinar Engelsen