New Delhi: A panel discussion was organized to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Citizen Journalism during the third session of 10th Global Festival of Journalism Noida 2022. Dr. Sandeep Marwah President Marwah Studios initiated the discussion by introducing the definition of Citizen Journalism that it is based upon public citizens “playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing, and disseminating news and information.

Citizen journalism, also known as collaborative media, participatory journalism,  democratic journalism, guerrilla journalismor street journalism explained Komal Nahata renowned journalist from Mumbai.

“Citizen journalism was made more feasible by the development of various online internet platforms. New Media technology, such as social networking and media sharing websites,   in addition to the increasing prevalence of cellular telephones, have made citizen journalism more accessible to people worldwide added K.L.Ganju Consul General of the Republic of Comoros.

Being that Citizen journalism is yet to develop a conceptual framework and guiding principles, it can be heavily opinionated and subjective, making it more supplemental than primary in terms of forming public opinion,” said Ram Prasad Subedi, Charge d’ Affairs, Embassy of Nepal.

Citizen journalism, as a form of alternative media, presents a “radical challenge to the professionalized and institutionalized practices of the mainstream media,” explained Prof. Karl Bardosh of Tisch School of Arts, New York University, USA.

“Social Media platforms such as blogs, You Tube,  and Twitter encourage and facilitate engagement with other citizens who participate in creating content through commenting, liking, linking, and sharing. The majority of the content produced by these amateur news bloggers was not original content, but curated information monitored and edited by these various bloggers,” expressed Ravi Parashar, Senior Journalist.

Sanjay Goswami Head Services Sector Bureau of Indian Standards, Vinod Sharma Senior Journalist, Dr. Indrajit Ghosh Chairman MSMECCII, Dr. Gaurav Guptaa Chartered President Delhi Veg Lions Club, Vipin Gaur Secretary General NAI, Dr. Sushil Bharti Head Radio Noida 107.4FM and Ashok Tyagi Sec. General ICMEI also spoke on the occasion.

Later prestigious and exclusive Citizen Awards were announced for few prominent social workers including Sonal Bedi, Kajal Chhatija, Dr. Rajat Sharma, Kusum Kanwar, Dr. Vidhi Chawla, Dr. Anita Sharma,  Anamika Gautam, Durgeshwari Singh, Rajiv Mathur, Brij Mohan Sharma. Few journalists like  S S Dogra, Neetu Singhal, Raju Bohra, Dinesh Gaur, Sonal Goel, Dr. Nisha Bhargava, Shyamli Rathore, Dr. Rabiaah’ Bhatia and  Dr. Kalyani Kabir were also honoured with 2nd Citizen Awards of Marwah Studios.

The event was supported by AAFT University, International Chamber of Media & Entertainment Industry, Asian Unity Alliance, International Public Broadcasting Forum, Koshish-Sahyog, Mahatma Gandhi Forum and International Film and Television Research Centre. Akanksha Singh conducted the program.

Citizen Journalist Awards Presented by Sandeep Marwah of IJC