Artefact Description
The fourth artefact was a Case Study on Citizen Journalism based on data gained from expert interviews with 2 people that run an Official news website and a citizen journalism website respectively. The Case Study was also based on traffic figures and observation of the two websites.
Artefact Analysis and Evaluation
My third artefact suggested that consumers find infotainment news articles more enjoyable and informative than text-based articles. For my next artefact I wanted to discover the effect of Citizen Journalism and whether it’s as enjoyable, informative and credible as news content from official organisations.
I interviewed the person who runs the Official news website for a football club and the person who runs a successful Citizen Journalist blog (Bulls News), also on the football club. I asked about the type of content they produce in terms of factuality and subjectivity. Interviewing both parties allowed me to make comparisons and gauge their understanding of what they do.
I discovered that the Official website was 100% factual, allowing no room for opinion and they are restricted to publishing only the official word. Bulls News however, admitted to often adding their own slant to their stories and reporting on rumours and speculation. They believe this is one of the reasons for their success as when official news has been lacking, they can speculate or ponder, which is more enjoyable for their consumers.
The research suggested that Official organisations achieve instant credibility with their consumers whereas Citizen Journalists have to work hard to establish themselves and credit their sources to achieve credibility.
I also concluded that Citizen Journalists lack financial motivation which can cause their websites to stagnate, whereas Official organisations have the financial drive to improve.
Ultimately we can conclude that Citizen Journalism can compete with Official organisations due to the ease and freedom they enjoy. And if the Official site wasn’t as organised as the one in this case study, then a Citizen Journalist website could easily be capable of surpassing its official competitor. So yes, Citizen Journalism is a genuine pressure that the news media industry must be aware of.
