Grocott’s Mail Citizen Journalism Course

Elvira van Noort

Course 1 - 2010

What is Citizen Journalism?

The act of a citizen, or group of citizens, playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information. The intent of this participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires - Chris Willis and Shayne Bowman

Citizen Journalism is rooted in the

real lives of citizens and serves the interests of citizens

- Douglas McGill (NY Times reporter)

A citizen journalist can give a refreshing perspective on a public problem

A citizen journalist can give a voice to smaller communities

There is no formal journalistic workflow

What qualities and talents does a CJ have?

Qualities & Talents

• To defend the rights of ordinary people• An interest in life and the world around you • Always prepared to learn something new• Love of language – grammar/ spelling• The ability to express ideas clearly and concisely • News sense – a nose for news/ ability to

separate relevant facts from irrelevant information / identify a news hook

• A suspicious mind• Curiosity

Qualities & Talents

• Determination – be polite but persistent • Dedication• Friendliness• Reliability/ Punctuality• Resourcefulness• Objective / Fair - Good sense of ethics and

what is right or wrong• Numeracy• Audience Awareness

PASSIONPASSION

You might have a passion for peace, justice and democracy…

You might have a natural desire to share an experience or your knowledge…

…but you need to remember that

it is always your first job to report as opposed to argue or give opinions

Reporting = observing the world and listening to the views of others with an open mind, and then reporting those observations and views as accurately as possible

The Importance of Reporting

• Facts – verified observations• Give readers a factually-grounded report• Leave the reader with the feeling he knows

more about the world and how it works • The reader can use the information in your

story to become a better informed citizen

So… for every article you write, prepare yourself to go out into the world to observe and listen carefully, with an open heart and mind

Subordinate your own emotions and beliefs to what you see and hear - record your observations as accurately as you can

Are your observations news?What is news?

IMPACT

IMMEDIACY

PROMINENCE

EMOTIONS

PROXIMITY

NOVELTY

CONFLICT

Which story is more newsworthy?

• A drunk student was injured after his car hit a tree last week/ yesterday

• A donkey in High Street bit its owner / A man in High Street bit his donkey

• The mayor / owner of a B&B argues that local unemployment figures are untrue

• Sunnyside / Port Alfred has been without water for three days

News Judgement = ability to determine which news is most interesting and important to your readers

Where would you run these stories?

Grocott’s Mail / Daily Sun / Mail & Guardian

• The Dutch government collapsed after disagreeing about the Afghanistan mission

• A RU professor resigned Tuesday after winning R5 million in the Lotto

• A man claims that a doctor tried to cure him of TB by sucking out his brain

Easy?

Generating story ideas is probably more difficult…

• Breaking News Events• Scheduled Events• Suggestions from readers or family & friends• Your own ideas

Ask yourself…

…why are there three bulldozers in my street?…what does that mean?…how does a camera obscura work?…when will the whole of G’town have water?…who is in charge of ID books?…where do the street kids sleep?

EXAMPLES

• Static electricity – what is it?• Empty beds in Soweto B&B’s – how come?

Questions? Anyone?