QotW9: STOMP – the news by us
What is Citizen Journalism?
With the rise of the Internet and the ease with which technology allows us to keep one another updated through the use of SMS, forums, blogs or even moblogs for up-to-date news and happenings, it is now possible for anyone to be a citizen journalist. Citizen journalism or “participatory journalism” as defined by Wikipedia, is the act of citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information". The intent of this participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires (Citizen Journalism, 2007).
What makes citizen journalism different from traditional news media is the difference between how much censorship there is and how bias the view would be. Unlike journalists working with the media, the news by a citizen journalist would not be highly censored and would provide a more unbiased viewpoint. As noted by Dan Gillmor (2004), “governments are very uneasy about the free flow of information, and allow it only to a point”. As print and broadcast news media is highly censored by the government, the news media may only show 1 side of the story or perhaps even none. Thus, we may lack information of the real world, unless we read about it through the perspective of others on their blogs or other sources. In that sense, the news becomes less unbiased as compared to the way the media frames it for the viewers to see.
STOMPing the way to Singaporean news
STOMP is the acronym for Straits Times Online Mobile Print. It is a Singapore-based online portal created by Singapore Press Holdings that enables Singaporeans to interact and engage in current affairs of Singapore through the three platforms of online, mobile and print (STOMP, 2007). STOMP delivers content that is interactive and will help develop new communities of Singaporeans bonded together by shared interests. Furthermore, access to the website is completely free and as for SMS and MMS, only normal Telco charges apply to users. Under the “About Us” section, The Straits Times Editor Han Fook Kwang explained, "In the new media environment, newspapers have to be more than just passive providers of news. They have to engage their readers in areas, which appeal to them. We have to provide readers with new avenues to express themselves, to enable them to interact with us, and among themselves." Thus, STOMP encourages anyone with something to say or share to do so through its portal. This ensures that everyone is given a “voice” and is not left out.
In previous years when STOMP was non-existent, readers could only share their opinions in the Forum page and it had to be pertinent to the articles written by the journalists. Thus, only the best letters to the editor were chosen due to the physical constraints of the newspaper. It was virtually unheard of to share gossip or sightings with the press back then. Yet, STOMP recognized that news can happen in an instant and members of the public could be on location to capture the news (with their mobile phones) before the reporters. Hence, having the portal meant that news could be disseminated easily and quickly through the eyes of the public.
Furthermore, STOMP caters to many interests of the audience by allowing content to be added by the readers. The topics range from pet peeves (“What Bugs Me”), good-looking people (“Hey Good Looking), sports (“EPL Stomping Ground”), good food (“ST Foodies Club”) to asking questions (“Ask ST”) and having an interactive forum (“Talk Back”) available to its users. What I liked about the portal was that they had a section called “English as it is broken”. It highlights signs or even daily conversations that uses poor English. While the main aim of The Straits Times was to broadcasts the news, the latent function was to help to improve the readers’ command of the English language and this section adds value to the portal.
STOMP = an ideal form of citizen journalism?
While STOMP looks set to be a form of citizen journalism for Singaporeans to discuss news and occurrences, it may not necessarily be ideal. The fact that it is based online means that only those who have access to computers and the Internet will benefit from this portal. As mentioned by Gillmor (2004),
“…citizen journalism is mostly the province of what my friend and former newspaper editor Tom Stites calls “a rather narrow and very privileged slice of the polity—those who are educated enough to take part in the wired conversation, who have the technical skills, and who are affluent enough to have the time and equipment.” These are the very same people we’re leaving behind in our Brave New Economy. They are everyday people, buffeted by change, and outside the conversation.”
Hence, the poor and/or the elderly may not be able to take part in STOMP as they may lack the knowledge on how to or may not have the means to do so. Though they are considered a minority, their views can still help shape the news.
Feedback… Feedforward
As STOMP appears to be an online community where like-minded people add their views and share information, one way to improve would be to have more people join STOMP to further contribute to the categories. This would provide a diversity of views and it would be interesting to note what other categories could be added. Another way to improve STOMP would be to allow political opinions and constructive criticisms to be shared at the forums. STOMP could also elect members of the public to contribute as moderators and this acts a bridge between the media and the public in allowing better feedback on improving the portal. This would give the public a greater sense of attachment to STOMP rather than just contributing articles to it.
References
About Us. (2006). In STOMP. Retrieved March 30, 2007, from http://www.stomp.com.sg/about/about.html
Citizen journalism. (2007, March 28). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 30, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Citizen_journalism&oldid=118429022
Gillmor, D. (July 2004). We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People. Retrieved March 29, 2007 from http://download.nowis.com/index.cfm?phile=WeTheMedia.html&tipe=text/html
STOMP (online portal). (2007, February 14). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 30, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=STOMP_%28online_portal%29&oldid=108005436
1 comment:
Good point about the digital divide. Not everyone has access or know how to use the internet. They would be excluded and the challenge is to figure out how to get them involved.
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