Could you be the next reporter?

“We must adjust to changing times and still hold to remaining principles.”

-Jimmy Carter, 39^th U.S. President

The times are constantly changing many aspects of people’s everyday lives. With the technology revolution in full flight, media outlets are changing as well. One aspect of change in the media comes from the idea of citizen journalism. It’s changing the ways news is considered “news”. Citizen journalism sites have taken a new approach to the news in which they reveal. Whether it is adding their own input on a news story, finding missing or inaccurate information in a news story, or covering a story that which may not have been covered by traditional news sources, citizen journalists offer fresh insights into today’s “news” culture. But how much can it be trusted?

One of the many citizen journalists’ web sites out there is Philly Future. This is a Philadelphia based site that offers the chance for citizens to write the “news”. The content on this site is more about news stories and happenings that you wouldn’t see in traditional newspapers or other media vehicles in the area. This gives the average citizen the chance to write what he or she may think is news and have it published on the site for other people to share.

Many of the stories on the site may be considered objective. They can range from being biased, to only partial coverage of a story, or even taking a story out of its context. These issues stem from the fact that with citizen journalism sites, like Philly Future, being so open to users, many stories come from those who are interested in the topic or have a stake in the issue. This idea goes on to show that people may present a story from his or her point of view and leave out information that may be critical to the opposing side of that story. This openness for objectivity could be positive or negative in the stories in which a site may cover. In could either bring people together to share their similar ideas on a topic, or it could start a debate between opposing sides of an issue who may share the interest of the citizen journalism web site.

In any case, citizen journalism is an up-and-coming industry that is growing larger by the day. With the demand for more entertainment news, the audience calls for more stories that a traditional news outlet may not cover. So, why not cover the stories that you wish to read yourself? Anything is possible in today’s society.