Citizen journalism

The value of citizen journalism can also be seen in the most recent school tragedy which took place at Virginia Tech . The cellular phone owned by Jamal Albarghouti became a very worthy and impromptu media instrument at the crucial moment when the incident unfolded (Tompkins This video became available to the public through its being posted on the website of one of the largest news providers in the country , CNN The value of this video shot by a layman citizen is clear in that it has been sought after by this large cable

news enterprise , despite the fact that this corporation itself employs highly qualified reporters . The fact is that the availability of reporters on site during newsworthy incidents poses a problem because of the time it takes for them to get there once the occurrence of the incident has been made public . This problem has essentially been solved to a very large degree with the involvement of the public in reporting

During the Virginia Tech incident , Albarghouti 's access to media-worthy video has provided to the public footage of the gruesome slaughter that would otherwise never have been seen . It may also hold some information that could prove valuable to the authorities in their investigation of the incident . Furthermore , evidence exists that to citizen journalism might also be attributed the honor of getting information out concerning the incident in other ways . While some students hid under desks , they used their cellular phones to pass on information about the incident via text messaging , web forums and blogs (Tompkins . One reporter at Poynter Online declares the importance of such citizen-generated media contribution in his statement , If you ever had a doubt about how important it is for your newsroom to be able to tap into user-generated content , the Virginia Tech story...