Citizen Journalism

What is Citizen Journalism?

What is the purpose of C J?

What is the definition on these 2 words?

Citizen 

A legally recognized subject or national of a state or commonwealth, either native or naturalized.
Oxford Dictionaries (1)

A person who is a member of a state or country and has legal rights there
Cambridge Dictionary (2)

Journalism

The collection, preparation and distribution of news and related commentary and feature materials through such print and electronic media as newspapers, magazines, books, blogs, webcasts, podcasts, social networking and social media sites and email as well as through radio, motion pictures and television.

The word journalism was originally applied to the reportage of current events in printed form, specifically newspapers but with the advent of radio, television and the Internet in the 20^th century the use of the term broadened to include all printed and electronic communication dealing with current affairs.
Encyclopaedia Britannica (3)

Purpose of Journalism

News is that part of communication that keeps us informed of the changing events, issues and characters in the world outside.

Though it may be interesting or even entertaining, the foremost value of news is as a utility to empower the informed.

The purpose of journalism is thus to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies and their governments.
American Press Institute (4)

Definition of Citizen Journalism

The activity of recording or writing about news stories when this is done by ordinary people rather than by trained reporters.
Cambridge Dictionary (5)

The collection, dissemination and analysis of news and information by the general public especially by means of the Internet.
Oxford Dictionaries (6)

CJ is based upon public citizens playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analysing and disseminating news and information.

Reading what the definitions out there are telling us, we could say that a person who is law abiding in their country is what a citizen is.

The journalism bit is reporting through paper, print or electronic

The purpose of journalism is highlighted by the American Press Institute to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies and their governments.

Next – the definition of Citizen Journalism is saying we, the ordinary people – the general public actively collect, inform, record and write news stories, without any formal training that reporters get.

We all know many do this using the Internet as the platform

The author of Simple Living Global has been actively writing and reporting GLOBAL NEWS for one reason – to bring awareness to humanity and that means ALL OF US.

WHY?

Read our end of year news for 2018 and 2019 and we would all need to admit with Honesty that our world is officially in a mess.

If we do not agree or need the proof, then look no further than this monumental website, which is consistently reporting the global stats and facts that tell us – SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT.

To assist and make it easy – check out these articles, which will leave you in no doubt about the state of the world we have created

911 EMERGENCY
2018 News
2019 News
Dear World
Earthquakes
Food Waste
Our World | Our Waste

FOMO
Holidays
Internet
Social Media
Video Games

Anti Depressants
Asthma
Atrial Fibrillation
Cancer
Children’s Mental Health
Depression
Diabetes
Eating Disorders
Fast Food
FGM
Heart
Hypertension
Kidney Disease
Loneliness
Mental Health
Obesity
Oral Health
Politics
Sleep
Stress
Suicide
Trafficking
War
Wellness
Women
Youth

Alcohol
Caffeine
Drug Abuse
E-Cigarettes
Marijuana
Opioids
Spice
Tobacco

1,133 pages
343,271 words

confirming the current state our world is in.

Dear World

Is this enough evidence to confirm that our highly advanced Intelligent world is in a serious mess and we have not managed to find the root cause of our ills?

Have we clocked it yet or are we going to ignore the fact that we – YES WE, each and everyone of us as individuals, have created and contributed to all of this and it is now in our face?

What if the very fact that we created this mess means we must also have the answers to get out of this ugly state?

What if we stopped all research into the next thing and the next thing and used ALL our Intelligentsia and academia and expertise to Focus on one area and not settle until we ALL agree and are unified?

In other words, using a Simple example here –

We work together to find out WHY we have almost a trillion dollar sleeping aids industry and go to the obvious by asking WHY on earth have we not mastered something so basic as SLEEP.

Hello HELLO

If we were from another planet observing our current state of behaviour how would it look, as these are beings calling themselves the most intelligent species, who have no natural rhythm or movement that supports them to live in a way that is part of their evolution.

We have sleep deprived humans leading the way, who rely on stimulants to stay awake during the day to tell others what to do about sleep.

We have exhausted people making policies saying high school students need to go to school at later times as they go to bed late, without ever addressing if this is really the Truth.

We have parents with high Stress levels unable to enforce clear bedtimes for their kids, as their Sleep patterns are all over the place.

We have very young children eating copious amounts of sugar when all they need is sleep.

We have many suffering with insomnia, running big organisations and relying on a modern day drug called Cocaine to drive them to keep going.

We have screen time addiction, yet those in power are powerless as they are not able to make any real change as they do the same – stay up late, using their screen.

We have teachers unable to cope with workloads and Mental Health with Children, as they are not equipped due to their lack of sleep.

We have longer Holidays to help regenerate from loss of sleep but it seems to have the opposite effect, as we need even more sleep.

We have Mistakes being made in the medical world as so many staff are now sleep deprived. (7)

We have Jet Lag because very few truly understand how to prepare the body for long haul flights and time zones.

We have traffic accidents because people are artificially stimulated and not able to focus with the conscious presence needed when driving.

 

 

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All of the above is what an observer from outside planet Earth would see and this is just about one thing – SLEEP.

 ADD to that the list above and we would need to wake up and say – life is not so great, if this is the real state of our world today.

So what has all this got to do with Citizen Journalism one may ask?

Well we have all waited since day dot for those in the world of science to tell us by way of analysed data and more data that we are getting this and that because of this and that.

Example – this and that research studies over a hundred years tells us now that smoking is most certainly not for human consumption and in fact it is killing us. Got that?

So how can Citizen Journalism assist us and give us purpose and some value?

Well hold on to your seats and keep reading – here we go…

It is super Simple

ALL we have to Get on with is saying what we see, clock, observe and register in our daily life.

Report it by way of Expression in the form of writing or talking about it – just put words – and that means be the voice for those of us who need to be informed.

Instead of talking utter nonsense about last night’s reality show – get a conversation going with what is going on

• • • in the neighbourhood
    • in the community
    • in town
    • on the bus
    • on the train
    • on the plane
    • in the shops
    • in the supermarket
    • at the nail salon
    • at the hair salon
    • at the shopping mall
    • at the pharmacy
    • in the doctor’s surgery
    • at the dentist
    • at the airport
    • in the diner
    • at the fancy restaurant
    • at work
    • at the station

In other words – it is time to get Real and get Honest so that we can get to the Truth about what is going on under our nose, so to speak.

Just Talking about what we saw, how it made us feel and what we can do about it or asking what is our Responsibility, could lead to Another Way.

Those of us who are able to report by way of writing, get going like the author of this blog who has dedicated their life to ensuring things are not just left with a nod or shrugging shoulders, but actually expressed by way of commenting.

Citizen Journalism offers us ALL an equal opportunity to have our say and not hold back.

No need to do it for any hidden agenda.

Report the facts, Say it as it is and get Talking.

Get writing as we just need to state what we observe – nothing more and nothing less.

What if we did our bit when it comes to Citizen Journalism?

Could we see real change because we are not relying on the mass media to tell us what happened?

Most of us have no confidence in the media as not everything we read holds the essence of Truth and with Social Media spreading fake news stories, it tells us we have officially Lost the Plot.

Back to  Citizen Journalism

Could it be a wake up call in our local community if we just shared what we know is going on, instead of pretending it did not happen?

Could this then lead to the next steps needed, as many would be able to support or use the resources they have to take action or do whatever the call is?

Could it be possible we could respond if we actually felt the call that SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT and we have the answer to DO SOMETHING?

Doing nothing guarantees no change

This blog, this website and every comment thus far posted confirms we need more of this reporting.

Citizen Journalism  puts the Responsibility back in our hands and it means we do not have to wait for another scientific research study to tell us what common sense has already told us.

 

 

References

(1) (n.d). Lexico. Retrieved January 11, 2020 from
https://www.lexico.com/definition/citizen

(2) (n.d). Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved January 11, 2020 from
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/citizen

(3) (n.d). Journalism. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved January 11, 2020 from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/journalism

(4) (n.d). What is the Purpose of Journalism? American Press Institute. Retrieved January 11, 2020 from
https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/journalism-essentials/what-is-journalism/purpose-journalism/

(5) (n.d). Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved January 11, 2020 from
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/citizen-journalism

(6) (n.d). Lexico. Retrieved January 11, 2020 from
https://www.lexico.com/definition/citizen_journalism

(7) Forrest, A. (2019, May 8). Overtired GPs Openly Making Mistakes as New Research Reveals Doctors See More Patients Than is Safe. Independent. Retrieved January 15, 2020 from
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/gps-doctors-tired-overworked-mistakes-nhs-poll-pulse-panorama-a8903711.html