CITIZEN JOURNALISM VRS TRADITIONAL MEDIA

 Citizen journalism is when everyday people or people who are not trained journalists collect, report and distribute news and information just like mainstream or professional journalists but post their “work” on social media platforms, whereas mainstream journalists post theirs in the traditional media. These people may have different objectives and ideals for gathering and reporting on these news items and information. Examples of citizen journalism is the gathering and reporting by citizens during the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the December 2010 Arab spring. These citizens do the gathering and reporting by the use of technological devices like mobile phones and digital cameras. These news items and information mostly come in the form of video, audio and pictures. They are posted on social media platforms such as blogs, photo and video- sharing sites like youtube, etc. It can exist within the main framework of a mainstream media outlet and it can also exist on its own.

            Social media can be said to be a platform which enables interactions on the web by means of creating, sharing and/or exchanging information and ideas. These interactions are done by the use of texts, audio and video using online applications. Some of these applications are facebook, blogs, wikis, podcasts, twitter , deli:cious, bado, youtube, linkedin etc. Citizen journalists therefore use these platforms (facebook, Reddit, youtube,etc) to share news items and information to members within their circles who in turn also distribute it to those within their circles. These social platforms allow users to contribute or comment on the postings of other users. These comments may either be positive or negative pertaining on how the user views it.

             Traditional media is the old and usually archaic or out- moded way of distributing news items and information. It can also be the non-electronic mediums which works as part of our culture and as vehicles transmitting tradition from one generation to the other. Traditional media includes radio, newspapers, magazines, books, movies and orally. Traditional media has been used for years in the forms of sales promotions, public relations and direct marketing, before the advent of the internet and eventually the development of social media through the amendment of web 1.0 to web 2.0 which is user friendly.

            The introduction of social media platforms such as facebook, twitter, youtube, Reddit and the like, as well as the innovation of technological devices such as mobile phones, iPads, digital cameras and laptops, just to mention a few has had a somehow tremendous or crippling effect on the traditional media used by mainstream journalists. In that, social media platforms allows for users to post or broadcast whatever information they want to share online without any real restrictions in spaces supposed to be used and times convenient for these information or news items to be shared. Unlike traditional media, the social media allows these citizen journalists to reach out to a limitless amount of people at the same time whereas the traditional media is limited in the number of people it reaches. Information put across in traditional media can also not reach a lot of people at the same time. Though technological devices and the use of the internet is expensive and thus demand a lot of monetary investment as supposed to traditional media which is less expensive, the new media transmits information faster and it is also easier for citizen journalists to use. Social media also allows citizen journalists to get instant feedback from other users unlike the traditional media whereby readers or the audience needs to write or send feedback which will be publicized in the next issue of traditional media if it is print like newspapers or magazines or read on the program if it is a show on radio, since the traditional media is limited on the basis of time, space and days when programs are televised or delivered. The gathering, reporting and distribution by citizen journalists by use of social media affect the work or the transmission of mainstream journalists and media houses in that, the audience are now relying more on citizen journalists for news and information online and “abandoning” the traditional media which used to be their only source of news items and information on either news, entertainment, sports, etc. This to an extent is also because accessing social media platforms for information is not time consuming like the traditional media. Thus, one can access whatever information he or she likes at his or her own convenience online unlike the traditional media which does not give this option. For example, if any audience wants to watch the day’s happenings, he or she needs to wait till evening when most media houses telecasts the news bulletin before getting informed on what made the news during the day. However, social media allows for the user to access any of the social platforms at any given time suitable for the user to get the information he or she requires without any restriction on time.

            Despite all the above mentioned effects citizen journalism through the use of social media is having on the traditional media due to the active participation by the users of these social media platforms, traditional media houses are rapidly integrating citizen journalists in the mainstream media by equally creating accounts and/ or pages on social media platforms like facebook and twitter which allows citizen journalists to share with them any information be it in the form of texts, photos, audio and videos which they in turn use as part of their mainstream disseminating or distribution of information or comment on their reportage. Citizen journalists have also welcomed this initiative by the traditional media and thus contribute to the pages or accounts created by these traditional media houses’ on social platforms anything they deem as worth sharing to aid them in their work by sometimes creating awareness and other times to educate or bring to the notice of the proper authorities to cause a change in their environment. Traditional media houses have also created websites which allows for users to access the page at any given time for any information needed. They also now have online publications of their traditional outlets which the audience can have access to at any time. Examples of traditional media houses which have incorporated citizen journalism into their mainstream reporting and dissemination are CNN and TV3. Tv3 has created a segment on their seven o’clock news bulletin called ‘Mynews’ which allows for viewers to share with them news stories which is basically in a video form before or during the news on situations going on in their communities or around them to be telecast as part of their news bulletin. They also have a facebook page where they post the news headlines for the day to allow viewers comment on those headlines, and their comments read live during the news. CNN also have an online site called I-Reporter which allows citizen journalists to post news items or share information usually in a video form.

            In all, though the introduction of social media and social media platforms and the innovation of technological devices have facilitated the quickest and easiest way of sharing news items and information by citizen journalists posed a great threat to the effectiveness of the traditional media, the traditional media houses is intelligently trying to incorporate citizen journalism into the mainstream media. Though this is a step in the right direction, the fact still remains that mainstream journalists of traditional media houses cannot be everywhere at the same time and will still need to rely on citizen journalists to relay some or most news items and information on social media platforms like facebook, twitter, youtube and the like for them to pick and develop into their mainstream news items. Thus, citizen journalists cannot be do away with since the mainstream or traditional media houses need them. However, the news items and information shared by these citizen journalists may not always be factual or can be twisted based on their affiliations or emotions, and there is no real way for the other user accessing that information to know the truth. Mainstream journalists however go by their journalistic principle which entreats them to be objective in their reportage. Thus, it is devoid of emotions or bias.

Christiana Vanderpuye

Benjamin Agyepong

Follykoue Ayele Esther

Solange Moukarzel

Teiko Nartey-Khama

The Disabled and our roads

  Roads being a means of transport, pedestrians are seen on the sides of the road. These pedestrians are mostly seen either standing by the road or walking along the sides of the road. They sometimes try to find means of getting to the other side of the road and they normally do this by crossing the road using the zebra crossings or footbridges.
  Footbridges are bridges designed for pedestrians to enable them move from one side of the road to the other. These footbridges are mostly found on highways. The pedestrians  who use these footbridges include men, women and children whether able bodied or disabled.
  When footbridges are constructed, all categories of people need to be considered including the disabled. An example of a footbridge which considers the disabled is the footbridge at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle which links one side of the road, a trading centre to the other side of  the road, a lorry station.
  The Footbridge at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle has one side of it in a form of a stairs where those who can use it can access it and the other side of the footbridge with a smooth surface where those with wheelchairs can access. Likewise the footbridge at "Lapaz" close to the "Abrantie" Spot which has only one part in a form a stairs. People with wheelchairs can not access this footbridge so they have to walk move their wheelchair all the way to the traffic light to be able to cross the road since there is no zebra crossing in the road.

A footbridge at Lapaz

  It seems the disabled are not considered when constructing footbridges now-a-days because most of the footbridges constructed recently have only the stairs part which makes it difficult for the disabled to get to the other side of the road.

Beneath the Footbridge at Lapaz

  I think the government needs to consider the disable because if they do not, it seems like they are discriminating which is not right. The disabled are also citizens in the country and the vote during election making them part of the decision making process. Taking them into consideration will make Ghana a better place for them to be.

A video of the Footbridge at Lapaz

An audio on footbridges

Road Traffic

  It has been the wish and prayer of most drivers that our road networks in this our country will be modernized but it looks like their prayers and wishes never come to pass. Everyday, a new road is constructed and the old ones are upgraded but there has been no improvement. One of our problems in Ghana is Road Traffic and we have tried our best to solve them but there has not been any good result so far.
  Road Traffic consist of vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances using a public way for purposes of travelling either singly or together. The laws which govern traffic and regulate vehicles are known as Traffic laws and the Rules of the road are the laws as well as the informal rules that may have come up over time to ensure the timely and orderly flow of traffic.
  In Ghana, there is a unit responsible for road safety which is the Motor Transport and Traffic Unit (MMTU) and this unit is under the Ghana Police Service. The unit has other agencies which collaborate with them to ensure safety on the road and these agencies are; National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the Ghana Police Service. The head of the unit, who is the Commander of the unit reports to the Inspector General of Police (IGP). The members of the unit are trained to arrest, spot and warn  road offenders and also to educate road users on the accident-free road practices. They also keep records of all accidents and publish the statistics on quarterly bases in the print or electronic media to make the public aware of it. Traffic control and regulations are done by the personnel of the unit. The unit is also responsible for escorting the President of Ghana as well as state and foreign dignitaries.

A traffic jam on a double lane road

  Organized traffic is mostly done in many jurisdictions with intersections, junctions, traffic signals, signs, interchanges and marked lanes. some jurisdictions have complex and very detailed rules of the road and others rely more on the common senses of the drivers and their willingness to cooperate. In the absence of  lane markings and traffic control signals, uncontrolled traffic comes and drivers tend to keep to the appropriate side if the road is wide enough. Some intersections have no signal or signage and a particular road's traffic tend to flow, that is, it is a busy intersection, that intersection may be dominant and when a break sets in the traffic, the dominance of that road shifts to the other road where vehicles are queued. On business days  in Accra and most  cities, at predictable times of the day, traffic reaches great intensity due to the large number of vehicles using the same road at the same time. Such a phenomenon is called rush hour or peak hour even though the traffic intensity usually exceeds one hour.

Some regulatory signs used on the roads

  Motor vehicles emissions are important contributors to the growth of Carbon dioxide (Co2) concentrates in the atmosphere. Even though  carbon dioxide is non-toxic to humans, it is a major green house gas. Also, Road dust kicked up by vehicles sometimes trigger allergic reactions. Improved air quality can be delivered to areas to relieve them of significant amount of traffic by constructing new roads which will divert traffic from built-up areas.

An audio on Road traffic 

  The joy of driving on our roads now-a-days is gradually diminishing and its about time we do something about it because most Ghanaians use the roads as means of transportation and it is through this same means production takes place in terms of distribution. So if the roads are not good for transporting then production will reduce.

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