(www.talkingpoliticsjomc.wordpress.com)

A new wave of media coverage is taking over it is all coming from our mobile phones and computers.  Citizen journalists are taking over media coverage.  These “street journalists” are collecting, analyzing and reporting news and information by the general public by using the internet.  They are playing an active role in the news citizens consume.

(www.versus.com)

Citizen journalism should not be mixed with community or civic journalism.  Those are practiced by professional journalists.  Collaborative journalism is also another way of reporting news.  it is the practive of professional and non-professional journalists working together.  Citizen journalism is a “specific form of both citizen media and user generated content.”

A great example of citizen journalism is the new media technology we use like Twitter or blogging websites.  Anyone can tweet news and no one will know if it is true or not.  The increase of prevalence of cell phones has also made citizen journalism more accessible to people worldwide.  “Due to the availability of technology, citizens can often report breaking news more quickly than traditional media reporters.”

Mashable did an interview with Bellingcat’s Eliot Higgins about how to become a citizen journalist.  “[They] need to be obsessive but not crazy,” Higgins said.