Ethics in citizen journalism: incident of teenage girl molestation in India
| Date | 13 March 2017 |
| Pages | 2-16 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-05-2016-0017 |
| Published date | 13 March 2017 |
| Author | Somava Pande |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information & communications technology |
Ethics in citizen journalism:
incident of teenage girl
molestation in India
Somava Pande
Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Washington State University,
Washington, USA
Abstract
Purpose –New media is reshaping mediated communication. This paper aims to examine whether the
online communityis concerned about ethical issues in citizenjournalism.
Design/methodology/approach –The study uses critical thematic analyses to examine 1,402
comments posted in response to twoYouTube videos of teenage girl molestation in India. This method was
appropriate,as it will show how public reacts to information disseminatedby common citizens and also show
whetherethics are related to citizen journalism.
Findings –Results show that although some viewers questioned the cameraperson’s and the passerby’s
morality, several supportive comments praised the cameraperson’s presence of mind and courage.
Furthermore,it shows that while some viewers vilified the victim, others advocated a more prudent response.
This shows ambiguity regarding ethics in cyberspace. The mixed reactions present strong evidence to
challenge the idealistic and exceedingly rational original notion of the public sphere as homogenous or
integrated on issues of public concern. Instead, result exhibits an emergence of pluralistic,intersecting and
contendingpublics that are created by new communication technologies likethe internet.
Research limitations/implications –The study was specific to a particular contextthereby lacking
generalizability. However,it implies further investigation of social agency and the underlying politics in the
move from local to global.
Originality/value –These findingsnecessitate a reconceptualization of cyberspaceethics to accommodate
the new publics thathave materialized from new media technologies.
Keywords Ethics, YouTube, New media, Citizen journalism, Public sphere
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
New communication technology such as the internet and smartphone is drastically
reshaping mediated communication, specifically the field of journalism. Traditionally, an
arena occupied solely by professionals is now being shared by everyday citizens, who
collect, report, analyze and disseminate news and information (Bowman and Willis, 2003).
Additionally, new media scholars argue that the internet helps public to present their
interests and to contribute actively in the process of constructing and distributing
information, thereby creating a new public sphere (Antony and Thomas, 2010;Castells,
2008;Papacharissi, 2002).Habermas (1996) in his phenomenal work describes public sphere
as the group of private people who join to form a “public”and who have the ability to
challenge the structure. In the context of online space, Dahlberg (2007) describes the
increasing presence of counter-dominant discourses. Similarly, Castells (2012) argues that
because mass media are mostly controlled by the government(or the elites of the societies)
in the contemporary world, the internet provides the space for communicative autonomy.
Notably, this is an essential componentof citizen journalism. Citizen journalism is conceived
JICES
15,1
2
Received 17 Ma y 201 6
Revised29 June 2016
Accepted 29 Ju ne 201 6
Journalof Information,
Communicationand Ethics in
Society
Vol.15 No. 1, 2017
pp. 2-16
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1477-996X
DOI 10.1108/JICES-05-2016-0017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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