Citizen Journalism has added a feather in media’s cap. Both print and electronic media have taken certain measures to engage people actively in the collating and presenting of news. Due to their limitations, the media tried to cope with the needs of the people by spreading its wings through citizen media.
Earlier, people irked by the lax judiciary and inept laws, had no option other than to wait for justice and their uplift. Elections were the only means through which they communicated with the government. By and by, improvement in the modes of media gave access to the masses. Resultantly, citizen journalism came into existence.
Is the platform for masses to interact with each other by contributing information or commentary on news events. Although citizen journalists are independent, they are bound not to write anything and everything. Now, people need to be aware and take care for those things, which they used to take for granted earlier.
Blogging, text or video messaging of public viewpoints and communicating through social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace, are some means of citizen journalism. In this manner, the active participation of public has gained momentum in India over past two years.
On the news channel NDTV, text messages from the viewers has forced courts to reopen long standing unresolved criminal cases and expedite the delivery of justice. After the tsunami and in the wake of terror attacks in Mumbai, eyewitness accounts sent in by SMS´s supplied early facts about such incidents. They have often exposed inadequacies in disaster management and emergency facilities on the spot.
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