The Perils Of Youth & Participatory Journalism
Posted by anastasia on 08-05-2009
Like my former colleagues at Current TV, I was overjoyed at the news that Laura Ling and Euna Lee would be returning home yesterday. I loved watching everyone express their happiness in my Facebook newsfeed. My personal feelings about Laura (who I worked closely with) aside, I heard a news story about this topic produced by California Public Radio that I found extremely thought provoking. I tried to find it online, but haven’t been successful so far. The piece interviewed a journalist at New American Media about what happened in North Korea and the more recent detention of yet more young journalists in Iran.
The story focused on the changing nature of the media business as the context for what is happening — the downsizing of newspapers and cutbacks on international coverage causing many news organizations to rely on freelancers (who are often reporting on their own without the protection or insurance staffers are offered). It also touched upon this younger generation of up-and-coming journalists, hungry to make a name for themselves, comfortable using digital tools to produce, shoot, edit and PROMOTE their own work (see Shane Bauer’s site, one of the journalists now being held in Iran).
Interestingly, one of the projects I worked on with Laura was envisioning a program that would attract aspiring journalists to work with Current TV’s Vanguard department (we created this training site for the program). I remember talking with a journalism school faculty member about what we were doing, and the concerns he raised about young people taking risks in the field without insurance. This was a veteran journalist who had been seriously injured while reporting abroad.
I believe this is a big issue the journalism community needs to figure out. While technology has helped to democratize media and has opened up the opportunity for anyone to have a voice in what’s happening with the news, as well as for aspiring professionals to get noticed, it is also creating new dangers for people who either don’t know what they’re getting into or who don’t have the institutional protection an AP or CNN reporter might have when reporting in perilous situations.
I think this recent spate of young journalists being apprehended abroad should serve as a wake up call to people who are champions of “participatory journalism” as well as the news organizations encouraging regular people and aspiring journalists to take part. It’s natural for younger people to take greater risks, and in many cases, the stories coming from some of these ambitious young journalists are amazing. Just watch some of the vanguard pieces Current produces. But we also have to remember: It’s dangerous out there, and to educate both amateurs and young journalists alike about the risks involved.
Categorized under: Newspapers, TV