Week 3

The biggest question many people have about citizen journalism is if it is serious business or not. Could it overtake the mainstream media as the medium of choice for consumers?

The fact OhMyNews is now one of South Korea’s top ten media outlets shows that a certain amount of change is happening in how people receive their news.

These consumers clearly see the new user generated content, provided by sources like OhMyNews, as offering something they can’t get from the mainstream press.

A niche is clearly growing for news from different perspectives which have become more accessible in the internet age.

It is very possible this has been caused by disillusionment by at least a segment of the community, who see the mainstream media as being undermined by its market orientation and therefore bias.

The question is how the mainstream media will respond. We have seen this in small ways through user generated content used for stories.

It is likely that this could be increased in the future, but whether this grows or limits the access to a wide range of perspectives is still to be seen.