Citizen journalism is key in service monitoring

May 02, 2018

There is need to provide talking points, evidence and present specific ways so that the citizen journalists can take action.

By Isaac Opolot

This year's World Press Freedom Day May 3, 2018 (today), sees the media fraternity stand along with the theme of the day "Keeping power in check, media, Justice and the rule of law. The main event is jointly organised by UNESCO and the government of the Republic of Ghana. It is an opportunity to cover issues of media and transparency of political processes, the independence and media literacy of the judicial system and accountability of state institutions towards the public.

So I take this honor to appreciate the synergies in pursuing lobby and advocacy work at all levels. Today, I have an opportunity to share on the strength of citizen (community) journalism in pursuing advocacy work. Citizen (Community) Journalism is one strategy and network that provides a participatory, well-informed opportunity for journalists to exchange ideas with advocates, professionals, academia, policy makers, opinion formers and editors on issues that inform our contemporary society well-being especially focusing on culture, social service delivery and performance, leadership and accountability, good governance and democracy, climate change, access to social justice and property ownership, gender equality and equity, human rights activism, peace building and conflict management. These platforms help motivate civil society and government action, citizen understanding of power spaces and processes that exist, stimulate dialogue and hold policy makers accountable for their commitments.

As citizen journalists, there is usually need to set up an agenda, decide on the problems you want to address and define your own goals for the expected change. Or you may be working with others on more complex campaigns, in which there is need to co-ordinate your writing with the other campaigners and journalists in your network.

One of the most important questions one can ask  is the piece (information) you are preparing to write and its audience? The most effective writing will establish a connection to the audience and compel them to take some form of action. How will your piece (information) influence the reader? Your writing should relate to your audience as stakeholders in the change you are trying to achieve. Think about who is involved or impacted by the issue, as well as whom has the influence or power to make the change happen. You should understand where the key stakeholders stand.

Understanding the audience is one very important aspect since it can become an opponent to your set goal. This kind of audience usually makes it tough for the citizen journalist to write as you will need to have a deep understanding of their values to counter their position. They usually oppose because of moralistic values and attachments and this makes it critical to get opponents to reconsider their stance. It is also important to realize that in order to get opponents to move, they will need much more than a single written Piece (information) to compel them and working within a co-ordinated and sustained advocacy campaign strategy.

Citizen (Community) journalism looks forward to the neutrality of the participating parties, if so; they need to generate information to compel the audience to become allies. Often personal stories of change are a great way to get people to understand and engage in social issues affecting them. But there is also need to lead them to places where data and evidence is provided so that they can get more facts and the bigger picture after reading about the write up.

Therefore, the need to encourage them to take action, Signpost them to things they should do and perhaps tell them something about the issue they don't know to motivate them, is key. If you want to get them to engage with neutral parties or opponents, there is need to provide talking points, evidence and present specific ways that they can take action.

Finally take note of defamation this usually affects  the write-ups that are usually presented and usually seen as false statements that damage the reputation of individuals, business, product, groups, government, religion or nation and usually there are two types of defamation, these are likely to be libel and slander. Libel is defamation that is written and slander is spoken.

 "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that has ever happened and that it covers what you need to know."

 

The writer is a programme co-ordinator of the Teso-Karamoja Media Agency  (TEKAMA)

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});