July 11, 2005
Emily Bell analyses and comments in the British Guardian Unlimited the worth of London's citizen reporters with their coverage of bombing.
It certainly represents a new dynamic in newsgathering and a fulfilment of the blogger's adage on journalism: "There's always someone closer to the story than you." At a time when the media have, we are often told, all but exhausted the public's trust, the engagement of the public in disseminating and surrendering news footage must mark progress.
eight of content that will increasingly be available from "citizen reporters" provides a challenge as well as an opportunity for "big media". After all, authenticity is fairly easy to establish when you have clear footage of train carriages being evacuated, but as the net spreads wider to catch the words and images of ad hoc reporters, verification becomes far harder.
This level of difficulty will alarm some organisations into keeping away - many already refuse to run blogs or open comments on quasi-blogs for fear of increased legal risk - but this will inevitably shut off an avenue of debate and a new dimension to coverage.
The BBC, with its unrivalled new media resources, has led the field in soliciting and using images from its audience. It has taken steps to engage with, and even offer tips to, citizen reporters in a quid pro quo. As eyewitness accounts become increasingly common, the media have to engage with the idea that opening doors and distribution platforms to everybody will carry a risk as well as a substantial reward.
It might take only one faked film, one bogus report to weaken the bond of trust, and, conversely, one misedited report or misused image to make individuals wary once again of trusting their material to television or newspapers.
We are in the earliest stages of a revolutionary relationship, and its current urgency is bound to be tempered by setbacks. But it is important that all media owners engage as fully as they can in ensuring that it is a mutually beneficial relationship - one where the public becomes a partner rather than simply a resource.
Emily concludes: (..) "there is an ocean of difference between keeping open a space for your audience to participate in and allowing anyone to trash your journalistic brand. The public have shifted up a gear, and now those in the media have to decide how they wish to keep pace".
Addition from todays Financial Times 'Mobile phone images present dilemma for TV':
"The BBC has received more than 1,000 still pictures of the unfolding events and 300 different bits of amateur video since the explosions, prompting senior executives to reassess internal guidelines governing use of unsolicited material.
den, BBC director of news, said: "No one knows where this is going to take us. The gap between the professional and non-professional news gatherers is getting narrower."
(..) Ms Boaden said the BBC would also consider requests from the police and security services to scrutinise the material, particularly images that had not been broadcast.
She insisted, however, that the increasing use of amateur footage would not have any impact on news budgets or technology spending at the broadcaster".
