Chapter 3 Blog Post

Photo Credit: Jamie Albert

Catching Flowers in Florence

One point that resonated with me in Chapter 3 was citizen journalism. Citizen journalism, often called street journalism, is based upon citizens actively collecting, reporting, analyzing, and spreading news and information. Although citizen journalism can be detrimental to professional journalists, I believe that citizen journalism is a wonderful thing. Newsrooms and offices are important, but regular people acquiring information is usually what makes a real impact in this world. “For more than a decade, there has been interest in and enthusiasm for the idea of citizen journalism with stronger social ties to communities and access to publishing via blogs and other online methods” (Matheson qtd. in Lipschultz, 2018). Citizen journalism truly engages audience members because it involves real people making real changes. This creates tension because typical journalists are known for their objectivity, but most citizen journalists hold a clear opinion. I think it’s important that some people voice their opinion, because without it there would be no progress. 

For instance, photographer Brandon Stanton started a photoblog called “Humans of New York” which has gained a huge following through social media, especially Instagram. Stanton was able to share portraits, stories, and interviews of everyday people in the streets of New York City. He even continued his journey to other countries to share other cultures stories. This was a beautiful way to connect regular individuals with the world and advocate for something larger. He was able to share refugees fleeing wars in the Middle East, which was an extremely beautiful and noble thing to do. I think that citizen journalism is simply everyday people quenching their own curiosities by engaging with the people around them, and it should not be frowned upon by others. 

The photos above captured a wonderful moment in Florence, Italy where a new bride threw her bouquet of flowers into a crowd of random people outside the Duomo. My friend Olivia caught the bouquet. It was a magical moment between strangers coming together from different cultures that could have only been captured by someone in the audience. A professional journalist would never step outside of the newsroom to witness a normal couple getting married on Tuesday afternoon.