We know by now how the digital revolution is becoming an increasingly important part of the media and storytelling. But the whole concept of ‘digital stories’ is something that is, again, fairly new to me.
Daniel Meadows’ lecture gave a fascinating insight into how digital multimedia is being used to tell the stories of the people, who’ve lived them, by the people who’ve experienced them. And it all seems, rather simple. A few pictures, and well written words and the story soon falls neatly into place.
It’s still all wrapped up with the fundamental principles of storytelling though; if the story and the scripting is strong enough then, the production will come together to tell the tale.
And it seems to be a great step ahead in journalism. By allowing the subject to tell their story, in their own way, you’re empowering them and giving them a voice, and subsequently gaining their trust, an important part of journalism. It’s also giving an audience a different way to connect with a story and making it far more personal than a reporter or journalist simply telling them what’s happened. The audience are almost directly engaging with the story in front of them.
However, I’m slightly wary about how often this type of storytelling should be used and how it should be used. It’s very niche and creative and too much of this type of video could be overwhelming and I’m not sure if it would ever have a place in a modern news programme. But certainly for a documentary style programme, it’s a brilliant way to allow someone’s message to come through and it paints a very real picture.
Without a doubt though, it’s another medium through which journalists can say what they have to say and as young people starting out in the media, another digital platform that we must be aware of and can use as another tool of our trade (or profession, depending on your viewpoint).
Wednesday 29 October 2008
Thursday 16 October 2008
Is UGC the future?
User Generated Content (UGC) is something that has been an important part of newsgathering and my consumption of news for a number of years. Just by taking a glance around news websites, it becomes evident that many pictures and video in particular have been sent in by viewers and readers. For me, this is a great thing. Many people have questioned the role of citizen journalism and blogging especially. However, I think there’s a lot to be said for UGC. For example, if a huge fire breaks out at a Manchester factory, video content can be sent to a news organisation within minutes, and it could possibly take hours for a news crew to get there and by then the story is already developing. So, there’s a lot to be said for the citizen’s perspective.
Many news programmes now, also see the need for the viewers contribution. BBC Wales Today, for example have been running ‘Your Stories’ for a while and see the importance of involving the viewer in the news running and operation, it simply isn’t a one way street anymore.
Of course, there are negatives though. The moderation of UGC is essential and as this Guardian blog points out, it’s not cheap. Perhaps this will come to turn around? Maybe the costs and implications of UGC will become too great, and journalism will return to a one way street, but for now, it’s here and it’s here to stay and it’s an important part of storytelling.
Furthermore, the BBC is careful to point out their strict guidelines on user generated content, signalling that they recognise its importance.
Some organisations are already going one step further than simply ‘uploading’ your content – The National Geographic for example is even starting to build tools on their website so that users can edit the material they upload.
For me, though, there’s quite an important relationship between the citizen journalist and the professional journalist. Joe Bloggs who sends in his video of the Manchester fire gets a nice ‘thank you’ from the news organisation and a bit of an ego massage by getting his video broadcast on TV - job done. Of course, the relationship isn’t as simple as this, we must, as journalists, be wary of material sent to us, question its accuracy and the motives of the contributor. It is though, an important way to build contacts. If, as a reporter, you know that Joe Bloggs is in a certain area with a camera, then they could be available again to take some shots. Naturally though, it doesn’t replace the professional’s camera or the professional’s take on the story – but for immediacy, UGC has the upper hand.
Without a doubt, I think this two way relationship which has developed is vital, certainly for the time being and although it is constantly changing, we should be aware of it and the challenges it poses.
Many news programmes now, also see the need for the viewers contribution. BBC Wales Today, for example have been running ‘Your Stories’ for a while and see the importance of involving the viewer in the news running and operation, it simply isn’t a one way street anymore.
Of course, there are negatives though. The moderation of UGC is essential and as this Guardian blog points out, it’s not cheap. Perhaps this will come to turn around? Maybe the costs and implications of UGC will become too great, and journalism will return to a one way street, but for now, it’s here and it’s here to stay and it’s an important part of storytelling.
Furthermore, the BBC is careful to point out their strict guidelines on user generated content, signalling that they recognise its importance.
Some organisations are already going one step further than simply ‘uploading’ your content – The National Geographic for example is even starting to build tools on their website so that users can edit the material they upload.
For me, though, there’s quite an important relationship between the citizen journalist and the professional journalist. Joe Bloggs who sends in his video of the Manchester fire gets a nice ‘thank you’ from the news organisation and a bit of an ego massage by getting his video broadcast on TV - job done. Of course, the relationship isn’t as simple as this, we must, as journalists, be wary of material sent to us, question its accuracy and the motives of the contributor. It is though, an important way to build contacts. If, as a reporter, you know that Joe Bloggs is in a certain area with a camera, then they could be available again to take some shots. Naturally though, it doesn’t replace the professional’s camera or the professional’s take on the story – but for immediacy, UGC has the upper hand.
Without a doubt, I think this two way relationship which has developed is vital, certainly for the time being and although it is constantly changing, we should be aware of it and the challenges it poses.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)