In Citizen Journalism, Transparency Trumps Neutrality

by Rachel Sterne for GroundReport Community    December 09, 2008

As citizen journalism evolves, both content and style are changing.  Instead of aspiring to-- or feigning-- objectivity the new new journalists are emphasizing transparency.

These citizen journalists are changing the storytelling process, as the voice of the narrator has become an active element in the story arc. Disclosing personal affiliations and motives, citizen journalists bring you into their lives to document news and history in a truly intimate format.

During GroundReport's participation in YouTube's Video Your Vote project, we saw a brilliant example in the reporting of Wendy Stackhouse, a declared Obama supporter. 

Her videos showed her personal progression through the day, from perspectives of her children to her own vote and experience of the election results.

Part I: Kids on Election Day

Part II: Video of My Own Vote

Part III: From My Home: Obama Wins

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

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