Reporter.co.za, a new site that
invites members of the public to contribute their own articles and photographs and earn
a small fee, highlights the potential and limitations of the citizen-journalism craze.
This is according to veteran South African media
professional
Anton Harber, in his
Harbinger column, entitled "Citizen journalism
tends to be shallow and middle-class."
Reporter.co.za is an initiative by the big media house
Johnnic Communications, which has
several newspapers, magazines, and TV properties in South Africa.
Harber notes that the "citJ" phenomenon, which has been
mostly fueled by the Internet and technology, is still the preserve of
the rich in a world where the poor have limited access to the Internet.
He takes a close look at reporter.co.za, which promises a
"range of lively material." But on closer inspection, he says, the reports
are "half-baked, the sort you'd expect from beginner reporters who would
be sent back by a news desk to plug the holes." He also notes that the
pictures have a "charming amateurishness" to them.
Harber does agree, however, that there is a place for citizen journalism.
He quotes the head of the
BBC's News
Interactive division,
Peter Clifton, who says that user-generated content adds to
the strength of BBC content. Clifton says that citizen journalism is
here to stay, but as a complement to traditional journalism.
