TEDxThessaloniki 2011: three key takeaways from Paul Lewis
As we continue to push through in this era of technological and informational advancements, journalist Paul Lewis talks about how citizen journalism through new media and social media now plays a considerable role in investigative journalism. Here are three key takeaways from his conference at TEDxThessaloniki in 2011.
Citizen journalism — a new way to do journalism
Journalists look for facts, hints, and pieces of evidence through their research that will serve as their guide to formulate and write a story. However, many events may happen instantly, and knowing them right after they occur are more likely impossible without the aid of others. That is why as a journalist — it means accepting that you can’t know everything and allowing other people through technology to be your eyes and your ears, Lewis said.
On the other hand, citizen journalism drives off the idea that the masses or the public are just passive consumers of news and information. This type of journalism engages people who are non-journalists to contribute and even collaborate in producing news. It enables ordinary people to set up a foundational element that could become news for society.
Utilizing social media for investigative journalism
Information gathered from the Internet could be described as difficult to verify but, its capability to share and store that information to be seen by others is undeniable. The accessibility of social media made its way to become part of most people in their lives, with almost everything they encounter were being shared online.
As a journalist, social media transforms the way we can get information for news. Even though it may be harder to identify if certain information is accurate or not, it still encompasses the fact that social media is always up to date about the everyday events in our surroundings. Journalists should harness this feature of social media to gather potential news information promptly that could significantly help in investigative journalism.
Witness, record, and share.
The evolution of technology led to the birth of new media that has been a significant factor in journalism over time. With the availability of various smartphones that can record audio and videos, take photos, and such, an individual may also choose to share it on social media that can be accessed by people from all over the world with just a few simple clicks.
In today’s time, we are encouraged to try to record the events we witness, especially when we feel that certain problems or situations may involve injustice of some sort. It is also important to know that not only are these types of things we could share but also some positive stuff too.
To conclude, social media is a powerful tool that offers a way for the citizens and journalists to be collaborative in producing news with the aid of new media in this new age of information diversity.
