N.B. – A campus journalist emailed some questions regarding citizen journalism and a particular television show that engages in exposes. Allow me to share with you my answers.

How would you define citizen journalism?

Citizen journalism is providing media audiences the opportunity to practice the profession. One may say that it is a mechanism to empower the public by making them directly involved in the writing and production of journalistic outputs. This way, their role is not just confined to being sources of news or feedback. Citizen journalism can also be related to media literacy of audiences.

In your experience, how is it practiced in the Philippines? Is blog journalism and sending reports via SMS or MMS a result of this practice?

Citizen journalism is nothing new. Even before the introduction of the Internet, there are already AM radio stations that mobilize, for example, taxi drivers in reporting the traffic situation. The term, however, has become more popular with the introduction of blogging technology.

In your view, how is the general reception of the Filipinos to this form of news coverage?

I think there are people who are receptive to the idea, as may be gleaned from the popularity of Citizen Patrol and the wide global following of citizen journalism websites like Global Voices and Now Public. Of course, we should keep in mind that there still exists the limited reach of the Internet, so it is safe to assume that marginalized sectors of society, particularly the unorganized ones, still cannot maximize the opportunities offered by the Internet in getting theirs message across.

Do you think it benefits viewers and the media industry? How? If not, Why?

Viewers and the media sector (be careful in the use of the word “industry”) can benefit from citizen journalism if they adhere to the highest professional and ethical standards. In order for it to be effective, a non-journalist should know the basic skills and knowledge in the practice of the profession. He or she should not just be relegated to being a source of news and then made to read from a prepared script written by a professional. For example, a non-journalist should not be reduced to a talking head on television.

In citizen journalism, user-generated content is claimed to be the primary source of information. How is user generated content usually gathered and used, for example, in shows like Imbestigador? Does this follow ethical practice of journalism?

The generation of content indeed comes from a person’s direct experience, but it is necessary for the non-journalist to be trained to be objective — i.e., to get the other side of the story. Ethical violations could happen if a citizen journalist is unaware of ethical standards that must be adhered to, as in the case of using hidden cameras or other forms of deception to get the necessary information for a story.

What do you think is the intention of broadcasting networks in producing segments or shows that features citizens as journalists (taking over the journalist’s role) as in the TV Patrol segment, Citizen Patrol?

The media organizations are in a better position to answer this question. One can speculate that this is done to boost ratings. However, it is also possible that there are well-meaning individuals in the media organization who intend to empower audiences through citizen journalism and who see it as a form of media literacy.

With shows like Imbestigador that deal with resolving the people’s complaints, do you think that the media effectively safeguard the people from possible abuse of power or dismal performance by the government?

Shows like Imbestigador can help report wrongdoings, but notice that those who are exposed for their wayward ways are the so-called small fish. If at all, corruption is exposed only at the local level, and done by the expendable, less influential officials. There is also a question of ethics in the way the journalistic outputs are produced, particularly with regard to the use of hidden cameras and the resort to entrapment no different from a police operation. Media cannot fulfill the role of a police officer in apprehending suspects, because doing so, as in the case of Imbestigador, gives the public the impression that the suspects are already guilty of a crime. No amount of media disclaimer can negate the ideas generated by suspects being “caught” on camera and arrested for their alleged wrongdoing.

If these shows have to exist for the government to solve these problems, do you think that the state only acts when prodded by the media?

That these shows exist not only shows government weakness but also the media’s skewed interpretation of journalism ethics. While these shows can pressure government to act on specific social problems, we need better shows that adhere to the highest professional and ethical standards — i.e., shows that can contextualize social problems and take the entire government, not just individuals in an administration, to task.