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CITIZENS JOURNALISTS OF OLD WESTBURY

“New Media & Citizen Journalism”

Author Archives: nyemaw

September 10, 2012 Observations -Nyema Williams

Today i made some observations in Dunkin Donuts. I never thought of Dunkin Donuts as an actual cafe, but this one actually felt like an actual cafe. full of college students on laptops barely interacting with each other. Then there was the random loud talking from girls who were getting their drinks to go. For the most part, nothing interesting happened.Everyone was wrapped up in thier own lives and focused on whatever work they were doing.A few students did notice me lurking in a corner staring at them.

September 10, 2012 Citizen Journalism: The Good and The Bad- Nyema Williams

what is citizen journalism? Citizen journalism is exactly this. regular people like you and i sharing information via internet, through computers,smart phones and other devices.with the creation of smartphones and tablets, we’re able to share things going on around us with the click of a button. social media also plays a big part in citizen journalism. through websites like Facebook and twitter, we’re able to tell and discuss things as their happening.

 

so what are the pros? well there’s a few.  with citizen journalism, everyone can tell each other what’s going on no matter where they are in the world. on Ted Talks, Paul Lewis tells the story of Jimmy Mubenga. Mubenga was on a flight back to Angola where he being restrained in his seat by 3 security guards, suffocated and died. in the media the story was told differently. however, people who were on the flight were able to use twitter to get the truth out, even after they landed in Angola. these citizen journalist were able to send information through the internet even if they were in another continent.another pro is the fact that everyone can have an input on topics and ideas. we no longer have to listen to news reporters or trained journalists ideas. we can all share opinions and discuss different things that we’re passionate bout. sometimes, its good to hear someone else’s perspective.

 

journalism done by citizens is also a good  because the information is raw and uncut. with trained journalists, the information they put it out is edited and censored. the information they put out is also sometimes used to cover up or protect authorities. with citizen journalism, you learn whats happening as its happening.no time to edit and omit information.

 

on the other hand, the fact that the information is unedited can be a con of journalism.this type of information isn’t always trustworthy. people are also able to spread rumors. in CNN Discovers Downside of Citizen Journalism, they discuss the rumor of Steve Jobs’ death. a citizen journalist posted on iReport that Steve Jobs was being rushed to the hospital after a fatal heart attack. the only problem  is the statement was false. this rumor also caused apple stock to drop and lose $9 million in shares.with Citizen Journalism becoming more popular  the traditional way of doing journalism is becoming less popular. because of this, journalists are loosing their jobs. also citizens are posting unimportant things like Colbert pointed out in his video.

 

in my opinion, a balance is needed. citizen journalism can play a part as well as traditional journalism. we need both because they’re equally trustworthy,but in different ways. people should take what they can from both and draw their own conclusions.

 

what are your thoughts on citizen journalism?

 

Nyema Xo

 

September 5, 2012 I’m Nyema.

for some reason, when it comes to writing about myself, i get writers block. i know myself better than anyone and this seems to always get me stuck. brace yourselves: this could either be interesting to you, or extremely boring. my name is Nyema and im from Brooklyn,NY. Brooklyn is like the mecca for west indian people hence the reason my grandparents chose to move there from their native Trinidad and St. Lucia. I graduated from Brooklyn College Academy and im currently torn between majoring in business marketing and media communications.

On to the more interesting things about myself, I love:

  • fashion
  • music
  • cars
  • politics
  • economics
  • shoes
  • sports
  • art
  • random things
  • and most importantly my iPhone.

I would love to sit here and describe my style to you all, I just don’t know how to. lets just say, I love my basic wardrobe essentials. this includes, jeans and t-shirts. A LOT OF JEANS AND T-SHIRTS. all different washes and colors. the most fashionable people are those who dress for themselves and wear what they’re comfortable in. I also love hats. usually, when im too lazy to do my hair, a hat saves my day!

as for music,I listen to everything. rock, hip-hop,reggae,soca,pop…I love it all.

when I get older (older meaning 3 years from now) I want a Mercedes Benz e-class cabriolet. im obsessed with this car! all black exterior and all black interior. I get excited about this car just writing about it.

politics are fun to watch because debates get heated very quickly. it’s almost as good as watching reality tv. economics is pretty interesting as well. we should all be interested in how our favorite companies are doing financially.

please show me a girl who doesnt love shoes.

im a football fan, specifically the NY Giants. I love the giants.

my favorite artists are Banksy,Ryan McGuiness and Keith Haring.

the iPhone is the BEST PEICE OF TECHNOLOGY EVER INVENTED! I can do my homework, tweet my friends and talk to my mom all at the same time. Steve Jobs is a genius. I even get separation anxiety if I leave my phone to charge for a while. its like my baby.

oh, I cant believe I forgot to mention this. I blog.I’ve  been doing it for about 6 years now. I also do a bit of photography as well. but blogging was always fun for me. I blog about everything i listed a while earlier.

look at that! you survived this blog post! thanks for reading!

 

Nyema Xo