Transforming the media landscape
Open Journalism is more than a 21st century version of letters to the editor; it captures the ongoing development in which traditional media outlets not only make readers’ comments available but also more than ever rely on readers for information, allowing them to set the narrative.
The power that was previously concentrated to the hands of the media proprietors, has since the birth of social media been distributed to the everyday people. The consumers of news, the passive audience, have become active co-collaborators in the process of producing news.
News stories are now researched, developed and refined using social media platforms. Media outlets reach out to the public via Twitter and other platforms for a different news angle, to build stories from individuals experiencing them first-hand. Major news stories break on social media platforms rather than in the morning edition of the daily newspaper.
User-generated content has become a natural part of today’s news-making process, in effect, changing the way journalism is practiced.
Open Journalism opens the reporting tools to the wider public. Anyone can contribute to stories and we as reporters can verify the information given and publish stories based on this.
But what are the ethical, legal and regulatory consequences of Open journalism? How should we deal with issues we attach to traditional journalism like protection of sources, access to information and editorial independence?
These questions are being addressed in a series of expert meetings hosted by Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, with the aim of increasing knowledge about Open journalism and how it is influencing and affecting the media.
Got a question on #openjournalism? Join #tweetchat 18 sep 10am EST, @OSCE_RFoM will be online to answer your question, use #askRFoM
— Dunja Mijatovic (@OSCE_RFoM) 15. September 2014