The rise of online versus print media is one of the spectacular insights in media industry in the world today, Fred Obera investigates whether the industry is going to publish the untold stories regarding their danger, privacy, accuracy, agency, ethics, and compliance with libel laws.
In the context of globalization, millions have remained powerless to get information or publish information’s worth giving them death penalty’s (assassinations) but the under ground reporting have made this possible and escape censorships, where the new group of journalists has forcefully emerged in many parts of the world. This new breed of journalists most of them are not trained neither have any qualifications in relation to journalism professionalism. Some are journalists, some are maybe writers, activists, historians, lawyers, public relations officers, politicians, diplomats, philosophers and the list is endless.
George Ongere an Executive Director of CFI says, “In a wider perspective, this species is not trained in journalism practices, law and ethics, and in few moment it will kill the existence of the trained practitioners. In fact, most of the young professionals will throw away the towels, since experience will matter in the employment, and the citizen journalists will take advantage since some will go for training while practicing citizen journalism”. According to Abbott’s system to the professions, it is the interest of any profession to protect its jurisdictional claims by appealing to society to recognize its exclusive rights. After all “jurisdiction has not only a culture but a structure” (Abott, 1988: 59), and in most societies this is a perfectly defensible principle. This principle has been widely respected in Law. But who said that writers representing their views in different emotions should be barred from publishing their writings, or have no rights for publications? Where in earth do writers face the wrath of publications?
“In deed, one way of assuring professional exclusively of journalism is professional training and licensure, something that we hear with increasing among sub-Saharan journalists. As an occupational group, journalists in many Western countries have been reluctant to seek legal licensure, which formal profesionalisation implies, even though such licensure has happened to varying degrees in various parts of the world. In North America, the argument against licensure and formal professionalisation of journalism has been based on the fear of loss of freedom of expression” says Odhiambo Omwanda media mogul. But this is not the case, the case is why the powerful resurgence of underground journalists?
There is little doubt, that ultimately, the best way to keep societies with what is happening behind scenes is perhaps the underground reporting perhaps in political hostile environment nations, for instance, the thwarting of press freedom in most of the African and Asian countries has resulted into dictatorship or bad governance, and this nations rulers has killed democracy and freedom of the press, in most of the countries like Zimbabwe, Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, Chad etc, no journalists or writers have been allowed to expose to the society the injustices or holding government accountable to the public, helping in the time of crises- such good journalists or writers are often been killed by the government agency’s or seek asylums.
Nevertheless, a society cannot move without a flow of information. In Kenya in its 2007 general election crises or political crisis, government banned live broadcast of local, national and international, in a span of approximately one month. There was real political suppression to people of Kenya by its own government of the day denying them information, this alone created chaos since people who relied on news couldn’t get the exact information of what was happening to their leaders on the ground. The freedom of the media was not a fundamental importance to the government, because they feared the leaked information’s from the liberal or radical mainstream such as Standard Group as well as its twin sister KTN could compel to resists or fight back. The rights for the people were also suppressed and the general public demonstrated against the ban because they were not used to such kind of arbitration, it forced the government to lift their ban after the mediation team led by his Excellency Dr.Koffi Anan resolved the stalemate. Surprisingly, the government again tried to marshal her plan to censure media houses and journalists whose stories were lacking sources, all this were thwarted by the public because by censuring a journalists or media houses who is the public watchdog for good governance, how would they know of any scandal which was to be leaked to a journalists or broadcasting house by a government cronies to save his country from being reaped by those who did not saw?
At the same time, by denying people their rights to publish their emotions, realities, facts, is taking world back to German with their ruler Adolf Hitler, who was killing any journalists and writers simple because they were leaking his stories and injustices to his adversaries. Moreover, any journalists, writers should be allowed to publish his stories since there are laws, for example law of ‘tort’ and law of ‘contract’ will always assists the defender and the author. In the US democratic pole Senator Barack Obama team were unable to sue whoever circulated his picture while visiting Kenya, in Muslim attire, the reason was that it was indeed a defamatory but who did circulation? Can we ague in Senator Obama’s case as citizen journalism or professional journalism, propaganda, or political contestations?
Now, the so called civic or public journalism has tried to compel many governments, and forced many things going behind the scene published without any barrier, or suppression. Rachel Sterne the CEO of the world blog, Ground Report says “Ground Report has shown how democratizing the media and giving everyone a voice that can improve the world, especially given the political situation in many countries and recently in Kenya. An open, democratic news platform with revenue sharing benefits reporters not only in Kenya but in many countries worldwide”.
“Founded in 2006, today Ground Report has more than 20,000 articles, photos and videos from thousands of contributors. Our readers are young and whip-smart too- 78% are college graduates and 55% aged 18 to 34 years” says Rachel Sterne. The Ground Report is a user blog where several thousand people with different cultures and diverse values massively contribute through publishing their journals, articles, reports, researches, and also report on the daily issues across the world. As a citizen journalism centre, the Ground Report has given a niche in the market by giving a voice to the public. It has so far made a new way of connecting with the world readers. The Ground Reporters have made readers to better understand their worries and joys, and enable them to share some of thoughts with the world. It is believed that there are many stories and news all over the world that goes unreported or published, all these have been shelved for other opportunities for the mainstream or traditional media which sometimes kill good stories for the sake of class, but the Ground Report blog have made it possible for such stories to get publication and to rich the world leaders and readers. It has remained the avenues for self expression which it creates.
Most African and Asian countries such as Ghana, Philippine, Nigeria, India, Kenya, Sudan Bangladesh etc has been the greatest beneficiary from the Ground Report with its open, democratic news platform, where in Kenya, the 2007 general election received maximum coverage’s and post election has continued receiving airtime and creditability. The post election violence has also dominated the organization and its championing to quest for Kenya to retain its economy, democratic state and peace. The Ground Report stood by Kenya at the crucial moment of history, especially after the disputed presidential election results, where Kenyans have experienced more than their fair share of violence and death in the last one month of the year than they have been in the last decade. As is characteristic of violence in Africa where women and children are the most affected. Not only Kenya, the Darfur crises in Sudan has been given an in-depth reporting such like Darfur Live and Somalia.
‘Through little funds the company has been able to pay contributors, their revenues according to the contributors’ ratings. This has been very successful all over the world’ continues Rachel Sterne. As I can echo that I personally have largely benefited from the Ground Report having the company regional reporter, and now I believe that, ‘In the twenty-first century, everyone can be a reporter any time they want’, it doesn’t mean that you must have profession of journalism or sit in a class so that you can report issues affecting your well being, but on the other hand its good to acquire some journalistic skills to compete with time or bit the deadline of a story.
This upsurge of citizen journalism is not obsolete as most professional journalists have always raised concern about sources of the stories and credibility’s of citizen journalism, but it has help to bridge the gap between professional journalists, the government and the societies. Nowadays most mainstreams publish most of the stories on their dailies. Furthermore, good governance, good democracy, politico and socio-economic developments, freedom of press as well as humanism have been accelerating in many modern world countries, despite the hiccups, all these have been achieved through media.