It wasn’t long ago people were saying how the citizen journalism movement would never work in the days following Backfence’s closure.
The former owners of the now-shut venture said then citizen journalism was not a dying venture. There has been proof coming from Myanmar as unidentified citizen journalists are sending text messages, video and photos of the violence there.
The Wall Street Journal last week wrote about how citizen journalism is bringing us the news from Myanmar.
Myanmar’s government attempts to control the press. It’s the opposite of what we enjoy here in the U.S. You speak out against the government, you risk imprisonment or even death. And because of the control over the press, the mainstream media may not be able to uncover the truth behind the violence. They may not even be able to get into the country to report the news.
So the citizen journalists risk their lives sending messages throughout the world about the events in their country. What makes them do it? I can only guess, and I suspect it’s to stop the violence and make their country a better place to live.
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