Gatewatchers and Citizen Jouralism - What does it all mean?!

There are a lot of buzzwords and key terms flying around the Creative Industries Faculty at any given time, and although i can make sense of both 'Gatewatching' and 'Citizen Journalism' contextually, I found it hard to clearly define them for my own study purposes! So whilst clearing up any confusion for myself, I thought I may as well blog about it, and bring anyone else reading up to speed.

Basically, I figure, citizen journalists, as the name suggests, are normal everyday citizens who work to disseminate information to the masses. To quote Lisa Williams, Founder of H2OTOWN.INFO, from the embedded video, Citizen Journalists are "People who are non-journalists committing random acts of journalism".

What better place to further source an in-depth definition of the term than wikipedia, home to an abundance of Citizen Journalism itself?! Wikipedia cites Bowman and Willis in claiming that "the intent of this participation [citizen journalism] is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires." (2008). It allows individuals with no formal media training the opportunity create and disseminate news content, and correct fallacies stated in professional media content via comment and blogs, either in an individual manner or, in collaboration with other users. Today's technologies including Web 2.0. camera phones, digital still and video cameras, and easy-format publishing programs have allowed this phenomenon to flourish world wide.

It is in this light, that citizen Journalism may also be viewed as a form of produsage, enabling those who were formally just end users, consuming journalistic content to now participate fully in the entire meaning making process.

An interesting look at Citizen Journalism at work can be seen in the article "Citizen journalism continues to surge" (Marshall, 2005). It describes how Citizen Journalism came into action in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, whereby everyday citizens came together to deliver and disseminate amateur news, pictures and videos describing the devastation that had been dealt.

Another example of Citizen Journalism at work is articulated by Soat (2005). The author is referring to the London Underground bombings of 2005, labeling the images taken both during the attacks and in the aftermath the followed as “dramatic”, and promising to “...rewrite the rules of journalism, from the bottom up”.

Essentially, in gathering up such information in the events of both occurrences, consumers were acting as produsers, and more importantly, in this case, gatewatchers. Gatewatching allows for "...the publicizing of whatever relevant content is available anywhere on the web" (Bruns, 2005, p.2) Bruns further claims that it is an inherent characteristic of the net to eliminate any obstructions such as editorial interventions and access restrictions to the free flow of information. This should in turn result in the consequent balanced and uncensored news coverage that arises from gatewatching, and subsequent Citizen Journalism.


Bruns, A. (2005) Introduction: Gatewatching: Collaborative Online News Production Available: http://snurb.info/files/Gatewatching-Introduction.pdf (accessed May 3, 2008)

Citizen Jounalism. (2008) Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Journalism#What_is_citizen_journalism.3F (accessed May 4, 2008)

Marshall, J (2005,). Citizen journalism continues to surge. The Quill, 93(8), 14-16. http://proquest.umi.com.ezp02.library.qut.edu.au/pqdweb?index=31&did=924591201&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=4&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1193941272&clientId=14394 (accessed 31/10/2007)

Soat, J. (2005) Privacy is a tale told by an idiot. Information Week, iss.1607, 16. http://proquest.umi.com.ezp02.library.qut.edu.au/pqdweb?index=28&did=942697611&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=4&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1193940415&clientId=14394 (accessed 31/10/2007)

Open Source Software [NERDS NEED ONLY APPLY?!]

According to Leadbeater (2000), Open Source software allows internet based companies to co-evolve with their consumers, allowing them the opportunity to devise and upgrade, hence making them more desirable in the new economy (p.4). opensource.org also contends that benefits for the consumer that characterise such software development methods include -

• Updates released immediately
• Lower Cost
  
• Higher Reliability
  
• More flexibility - ability to explore multiple options simultaneously
• Better Quality
  
• Power of distributed peer review
  
• Transparency of process
• An end to predatory vendor lock-in

Considering that I am also an advertising student, and always hungry to assess what implications, if any, stand for the industry inherent with the development of new media technology, I instead found myself, this time, considering what kinds of people actually participate in and benefit from such collaboration.

Surely it would only be the nerdiest computer freaks, locked away with their glasses on, and way too much spare time on their hands?! This is a commonly held misconception, which I have evidenced aired in a fair few of my Tutorials and Lectures at QUT over the past two and a half years. We're all accustomed to the traditional stereotype, even me. But not just when it comes to Open Source software uptake. Consider briefly gamers, and Media Effects Theory - that games such as Grand Theft Auto are corrupting the minds of young children, setting them up for a lifetime of violence and rule abandonment. However, research showing that your average gamer is adult and well able to handle complex themes has proven the stereotypical cultural assumption wrong.

And I believe that the same can go for the identities of those who uptake open-source software.

I have two close friends who are hopelessly and completely hooked on Second Life. I don't mean they play for a couple of hours during recreation time each day, this is full blown addiction, both of them spend every spare minute hooked to the computer, playing this seemingly futile (to me) game, often even skipping mealtimes in order to continue playing. However neither of these friends embodies the characteristics we would perceive to be nerdy.

Friend number one, who I shall only refer to as D is a 17 year old male currently undertaking an electrician apprenticeship at the new Government Trade School on the Gold Coast. He has a plethora of 'real world friends' and he spends his weekends like any other well adjusted teenager; partying and having a good time. He also surfs, and skates prolifically, so definitely not your typical nerd. Friend two, M, also has a lots of 'real world' friends, however, aged 21, and not currently partaking in full time employment, he doesn't have the benefit of high level distractions to pull him away from the computer screen. Why is that M and D, two males, who until they discovered Second Life spent the bulk of their free time with mates, and partaking in less restrictive recreational pursuits, now find themselves so hooked. I believe the accessibility of open-source software has a lot to answer for in this case.

New and exciting content is constantly being released online, thanks primarily to open source. This has allowed both aforementioned players ongoing levels of excitement, and interactivity between players means that no two visits are ever the same. Obviously open source software has its own inherent huge benefits, however, its necessary to keep in mind that it also does possess some downfalls.

Leadbeater, C. (2000) Innovation: Survival of the fittest. Available: http://www.accenture.com/NR/rdonlyres/512E1B95-89C4-4195-8151-93BF49C39A4C/0/innovation22.pdf (accessed May 3, 2008)