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October 31, 2006
First Death of a Citizen Journalist?
Indymedia reporter Brad Will was shot and killed while covering the siege in Oaxaca, Mexico last week. This is probably the first death of a citizen journalist during the era of citizen journalism, though I doubt it will be blogged as such. Indymedia reporters tend to be thought of as independent journalists and not citizens for some reason. While both are unpaid and non-professional, Indymedia wears their politics on their sleeve. While this is polarizing to some, their passion and faith also keeps them sustainable (at least more so than the prospects of a free t-shirt) -- something we need to learn from. Meanwhile, citizen-J efforts remain mostly incidental journalism, more ready to fulfill the promise of urban sensing systems than the tenets of civic journalism.
We participatory media heads need to think about Brad Will and what his story means for our own immediate communities. While our peers are more likely to face a Apple vs. Bloggers lawsuit than the threat of physical harm, it doesn't absolve us from at least thinking about the social (and dare I say moral?) responsibility we have to prepare our users within reason.
Posted by yatta at October 31, 2006 3:15 PM