Citizen Journalism and Government Oppression

Barthes work looks at the relationship between the messenger and the message. I will then look at the research of Henry Jenkins. Jenkins work looks at the involvement people have with the media around them in order to have a choice. Which will lead me on to my studies toward citizen journalism. Citizen journalism was once a costly and demanding role. With the increase of social media networks and digital media tools, citizens are sharing their world with others often without realizing the effects it is having. In doing so much of the western world take these tools for granted and don't realize the capabilities before them.
             The second chapter will look at the two prominent variations in citizen journalism. Firstly I will look at how companies like CNN and the BBC utilize citizen produced media. They either offer it as raw footage or confirmed edited articles. This is used to either increase website footfall or save on the costs on journalists. I will then look at Tom Pool. Pool documented the activists and members of the New York Police Department involved with the Occupy Wall Street movement. I have chosen Pool because he had no journalism training and connected directly with the viewer. All he had upon arriving at the movement was his laptop, mobile phone and plane ticket stub before getting recognized by Time magazine.
             The final section in this article will look at closed media countries and how their citizen's risk everything, including their lives to distribute stories. We will look at the restriction put in place by North Korea. In order to ensure their populace do not received western influence they have restricted communication methods. Use of the Internet is a privilege of the rich and powerful. Visitors to the country have their own mobile phone networks separate from the citizens. All enforced with the punishment of death.
             Finally I will look at Mohammed Nabbous. Nabbous was involved in a significantly more hostile situation than Pool.