CyberJournalist.net: Rise of Do-It-Yourself Journalism

NewsFuture
Monthly newsletter for news industry executives focused on the future of
multi-platform publishing.
Subscribe • Current Issue

The API Forum
Exchange ideas
and information.
Enter the forum

Training Seminars
Learn about multi-platform news delivery in
The Digital News Series.
Learn more

The Post-9/11 Rise of Do-It-Yourself Journalism

Sept. 6 — The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks gave new prominence to the phenomenon of do-it-yourself journalism, from eyewitness accounts to analysis from amateurs, according to a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. As a result, the study found, growing numbers of Americans seem to want to use the Internet to supplement the information they get from traditional media.

The study cautions, though, that because these "do-it-yourself" accounts were written by amateurs, most of them did not follow the hallmarks of good journalism such as fact-checking and impartiality, and as a result "read more like rumors."

"Many stepped into the role of amateur journalist, seeking out sources and sometimes assembling these ideas for others," the University at Buffalo's Alex Halavais says in the study. "Most striking, perhaps, were the wide number of accounts from those who had seen the World Trade Center collapse, or had in some way gained first-hand knowledge of surrounding events.... At some sites these accounts, pictures and commentary were compiled and cataloged by Web producers outside the channels of traditional journalism."

Most notable, the study said, were the widespread first-person accounts, which most frequently appeared on personal Web logs, but also appeared on a wide variety of Web sites -- even though that usually don't publish news.

The study cited several examples of do-it-yourself journalism, ranging from postings from everyday people to ones by celebrities:

On Fark.com, an offbeat humor site, someone identifying himself as an employee of Worldcom indicated that the World Trade Center housed one of the major switches for their telephone networks, and another noted that his friend, a volunteer firefighter in Pittsburgh, had been put on alert and advised that there was a hijacking before the plane crashed outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania (Read the posts);

Michael Moore wrote of telephoning an office in the Towers, looking for a friend, and having the line go dead as the building collapsed;

Jon Katz, who wrote for many years for Hotwired on the effect the Web is having on the news, posted his experience of watching the Towers collapse on Slashdot.org, a technology discussion site.

In citing these, the study warned: "Many of these accounts do not follow the canons in fact-checking, seeking out alternative or opposing views, or attempted impartiality. They are necessarily more socially constructed, and read more like rumors, with particular aspects of the story being embellished while others are left aside."

Blogs may be the most widely talked about form of do-it-yourself journalism, but they are only one example, the report pointed out. The Web also made it possible for Americans to go directly to primary sources to get information, for example by reading press briefings posted on Web sites produced by Department of Defense, the FBI, the Red Cross, the Vatican, and dozens of other sources.

"This democratization of journalistic sources, while in no way rivaling the contacts of established journalists, provided new opportunities for individuals to explore the space of news and information more extensively. It also provided new sources of error, rumor, and propaganda."

Halavais says this is a trend that has continued since Sept. 11.

"One legacy of 9/11 for online news is that growing numbers of Americans seem to want to supplement the material they get from traditional media via traditional mechanisms such as television, newspapers, and magazines. Some Internet users become journalists themselves, with no other outlet than the sites to which they post their material.

"In the long run, the most significant effect of this do-it-yourself journalism might be its value to historians. They will be able to see all kinds of stories, detail, and data that might have been lost without a medium like the Internet on which to record it."

The study also found that the attacks continued to affect Internet behavior a year later, with Americans using the Web more frequently to get news, visit government sites and donate money.

The complete report can be read online at PewInternet.org.

— Jonathan Dube, CyberJournalist.net