@JKrums

In the past people would turn to professional news sources (TV programs, radio broadcast, newspapers etc.) to find out what the latest breaking news was, much of that has changed with the internet. In today's world we no longer need to solely rely on professional journalists for information on an event happening halfway around the world. We can now read the latest twitter status of someone witnessing a protest in the middle east, watch a youtube clip of the earthquake in Japan or "like" a facebook page of a local neighborhood to find out about local events. Citizen journalism allows citizens to tell or show their side of a story, or share a story that the media can not cover or chooses not to cover.

When a US airways plane landed in the Hudson everyone was shocked and surprised. The incident began to be known as "the miracle on the Hudson". One would think that the NY Times, The Daily News, CNN or Fox News would be the first to report the incident and release the first picture or video. This however was not the case, a man named Janis Krums uploaded the first picture of the plane via Twitter. Imagine how an avid twitter user in a different country must of reacted when he/she saw this twitter post before it was even in the news. Not only can citizen journalism inform people from all over the world about an event the second it happens, but it also allows people to see through a local's eyes and experience news unedited and without political influence.

Twitter User On MSNBC from AlleyInsider on Vimeo.