Understanding Citizen Journalism vs. Professional Journalism

1. PERBEDAAN - PERSAMAAN Citizen journalisT & Professional Journalist Sopian, S. Sos., M.I.Kom

2. Perbedaan Wartawan Warga dengan Wartawan Profesional  Fackson Banda (2010), Dalam membedakan wartawan warga dengan wartawan profesional, menurut Facksan Banda dapart dipahami dari: • Peraturan: Media massa dengan jurnalisme konvensionalnya dikenai berbagai peraturan. Jurnalisme warga tidak seperti itu sehingga ia berada di sisi lain jurnalisme mainstream. • Kolektivisme: Media massa bekerja berdasarkan spesialis secara kolektif. Aktivitas media, termasuk jurnalisme konvensional mengatur individu dalam kerja sama tim untuk menghasilkan kesatuan output. Berbeda dengan jurnalisme warga yang tidak mengacu pada kolektivisme tersebut sehingga ada yang mengklaimnya sebagai sesuatu yang revolusioner. ercaya sehingga menimbulkan “konflik”

3. Pekerjaan: Jurnalisme warga menjadi suatu bidang kegiatan atau pekerjaan tersendiri tetapi berbeda dengan wartawan resmi pada suatu media yang harus menuntutnya bekerja secara profesional. • Nilai. Bekerja di media massa sering didukung oleh nilai-nilai bersama yang diterjemahkan ke dalam satu set etika, direpresentasikan dalam kode prinsip-prinsip etika. Bagi wartawan profesional mereka dituntut untuk memahami dan menerapkan prinsip ini. Tidak demikian dengan wartawan warga yang tidak ada aturan khusus yang mengatur mereka.

4. The Similarities and Differences Between Citizen Journalists and Professional Journalists (Handbook for Citizen Journalists, 2010 : 51-55) : The Differences: Numbers • No one knows the number of citizen journalists around the world, however, it is believed they significantly outnumber professional journalists. There are so many bloggers, citizen-operated news websites, photobucketphotographers, Twitter reporters and YouTube videographers that no one can count them. Training • Although numbers may result in a large quantity of news, it does not insure a good quality – training does. • Professional journalists are trained in a variety of disciplines (research, interviewing, news writing, sourcing, etc.). Most major universities offer degrees in journalism that are earned by four or more years of study. You can earn a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in journalism.

5. Most citizen journalists are self-taught in the skills necessary to be effective news writers. Some take a few courses in a community college where they learn the fundamentals of journalism and then just start writing. Editorial oversight • Professional journalists do their work under the supervision of editors who decide what stories to run and art to use. They edit the copy of their reporters and determine the importance and placement of each story in the newspaper or on the broadcast. • Most citizen journalists work without any editor telling them which story to pursue, which photo to use, which person to talk to, which facts are relevant, which quote to employ or which words are appropriate. Remuneration • While the pay for professional journalists isn’t that great, the pay for citizen journalists is even less – often nil. Citizen journalists are, in most cases, unpaid volunteers who do the hard work no one else will do. • Some citizen journalists have found ways to monetize their work, but that effort in and of itself, is a distraction from what they really want to do – find the news, write the truth and inform the public.

6. The similarities Driving forces • There should be no difference in the driving forces motivating a professional or citizen journalist: truth matters; information is important; freedom is essential. Common values • Citizen journalists should own the long-accepted values of good journalism. Just as a high school football team must abide by the nearly identical rules as a professional football team, so must a citizen journalist abide by the rules of good journalism. The integrity of the game is at stake at all levels. Importance of the task • The free flow of information must not be inhibited because of laws, economic conditions, changing technologies or failing systems. Yet they are all happening at the same time. • Laws are being proposed to restrict free speech, economic conditions have caused cutbacks in news media budgets and have resulted in the closing of some great newspapers, and changing technologies have altered the way the news is produced and delivered. As old business models fail, creative thought is being given to new production and distribution methods. Common mission • So whether a professional journalist with a graduate degree in journalism or a citizen journalist with a heart to do something important for society, the mission is the same: find the story – writethe truth – inform the public.