Towards a Citizen Journalism, that is the main goal of my Blog, the idea begins one way and slowly it becomes something different,but with a more clear focus and increasing acceptance, time will tell where I can arrive with it. I have some ideas to develop but I need time to put them in place.
"Friday is China’s annual Journalists’ Day. And in recent years, the Internet and microblogging in particular, have expanded the field beyond professionals. In an era of citizen journalism, conventional media are feeling the pressure like never before. And some organizations are embracing, rather than resisting, change.
People’s Daily, China’s Number One Communist Party-run newspaper, has never been more popular and influential. Its secret, the agressive adoption of new media.
"The game has changed. Today with the help of the Internet and microblogs, everyone has become a journalist. If you don’t report it, others will." said People’s Daily staff.
The once revolutionary newspaper is once again in the middle of a revolution, this time, on the forefront of new media.
Last year, they set up a team of 9 devoted to a microblogging account on Sina weibo, with a modern office closely monitoring every single competitor. (big screen in the office monitoring signals of TV and other weibo accounts) They’re on the job nearly 24-7, and they now have more than 11 million followers.
"When breaking news happens, the first office it goes to is the new media office. Today, it’s an entire newspaper agency geared up to run the weibo account." said Wang Shuhuai, Chief Editor, New Media Office, People’s Daily.
"The world of news is changing. You don’t have to be a professional to become a journalist. All you need is this, a smartphone, and you can report anything that happens around you. As we all worry if we will one day lose our jobs, some journalists say their profession has a unique advantage." said Han Peng, CCTV Headquarters.
This year, several high-profile cases involving the spread of rumors or false information have dominated new media. One example is Dong Liangjie. He posted a dozen tweets, all claiming that China’s drinking water was contaminated with contraceptives. His goal was to promote his water filtering products.
He then asked a widely influential microblogger Xue Manzi to repost. The result was an online sensation, and panic among the public.
"The reason the People’s Daily has become so successful on Sina weibo is that it’s responsible for what it says. It combines the advantage of new media with its credibility established over the past decades." said Wang Shuhuai, Chief Editor, New Media Office, People’s Daily.
Today journalists are competing to be first and compelling, but the basic principle of the profession is still, and will always be, getting the facts right".
Source: CCTV
