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The Growing Prevalence of iReporting in the Digital Age

Christina Copeland, Kristi Harrison, Garrett Pace, and Naomi Peterson

University of West Florida

March 31, 2010

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Rationale for Selection of Trend

With the influx of new technology, the need for communication grows on the

international and community levels. Inventions like phones, cameras and video bring the

diverse societies of our vast planet together. The availability of these devices enables

every person to spread information both near and far. iReporting creates an avenue for

people to communicate and respond to one another quickly. In the last 25 years, the

spread of information increased greatly; initially, neighborhood watches and community

meetings were some of the first ways citizens could report in a small community. Then

with the birth of internet, people were able to share further distances and also with other

people that are interested or dealing with the same situation. As people became more

accustomed to new ways of reporting, interests evolved. The internet became a way

everyone could tell their feelings, share happenings or report on occurrences. With the

rise of YouTube, blogging, CNN iReport and countless other sites, a new method to find

news is now available to anyone with an internet-compatible cellular phone or computer.

We now can use iReports to access and report news anytime and anywhere.

Overview

iReporting is a way to get the news out when there is no other way to get first

hand media coverage. It is a relatively new term used to describe the surge in media posts

due to the increase of technology. Technology, such as the camera phones, USB cables,

digital cameras, email, blogging, social media sites and just the Internet in general, have
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instigated this new found everyday possibility of anyone reporting. This kind of reporting

can be instantaneous because of the ease of accessibility with these technologies.

iReporting can be done by anyone; sometimes this can help generate new leads

for the mainstream news channels. On CNN iReport, which is a link on their international

website, one can find a plethora of blogs or photos uploaded by citizen journalists

ranging from a picture of a factory fire to a report of a policeman confessing to burying a

teen in his back yard. CNN allows these kinds of reports but then states whether they

have vetted them yet or not. It also provides leads for mainstream news or just

instantaneous situations, such as the earthquake in Haiti. The first media pictures and

footage of the Chile earthquake came from cell phones and CNN showed those iReport

photos on the breaking news. Other great examples of iReporting are the twitter post of

the Hudson River plane crash and Olympic medalist Phelps and his image breaking cell

phone picture.

There are several available methods that can be employed to create an iReport. Of

course, social media is the first thing that comes to mind. Facebook allows just about any

form of media to be put online. Notes, status updates, photos and videos can all be posted

and shared at a rapid pace. On Twitter, users can post videos, called Twitvids, directly

from their cell phone. All you need is a camera phone and access to the internet. This

easily attainable requirement for communication allows news station to have source

footage of an event occurring without having a reporter or cameraman directly in the

area. If a digital camera is available, videos can be posted on video sharing sites such as
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Youtube. This option tends to have higher quality, but also takes more time to post

videos. This is usually good for news stations to find follow-up videos for stories.

Anyone with a camera, cell phone or a computer can participate in iReporting.

This is a wonderful opportunity for people to stay informed about different things that the

big news media may not bother to cover or cannot get to right away.

This debate rose some years ago with the influx of citizens posting their own

insight about the world around them. It is not only about emergency situations, citizens

are also reporting their views on legislation, politics, community crime, and scandal.

Most people agree that iReporting, during a natural disaster, is an essential benefit for

everyone involved. There is no better way to communicate than at the moment. The

valuable, save time tactic of cell phones, relief platforms, and find your loved one

websites are a fantastic help to anyone that is faced with that situation.

A variety of situations sometimes require a conscious, unbiased version of

reporting; citizen reporters do not always have the capability to be impartial. Sometimes

it is merely an education boundary that holds a person back from being a capable

iReporter. They just have speed. This is essential but is instantaneous iReporting always

accurate? Speed versus accuracy, this is the number one reason iReporting has such

mixed reviews.

The problem is essentially just accuracy. Who is going to monitor these iReports?

Can anyone monitor so many posts? Of course not, so then, who will report their

validity? Any person could have malicious intentions, a biased opinion of a situation and
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then create a skewed story. Although some iReports are credible and extremely helpful

to news media and people everywhere, some can be bogus. At the bottom of CNN

iReports, a disclaimer pop up box will warn viewers about the possibility of

misinformation. This box requires this box is meant to warn reader of the possibility of

falsities before they continue to page. The warning states, "iReport is the way people like

you report the news. The stories in this section are not edited, fact-checked or screened

before they post. Only ones marked 'CNN iReport' have been vetted by CNN".

Summary of Findings

A personal interaction with speed versus accuracy would be the University of

West Florida's scare last year. After it was reported a murder suspect was on campus

being chased by police, cell phones, Facebook and Twitter accounts went berserk with

iReports of all sorts of misinformation. Inaccurate information traveled so fast that some

students left buildings and walked to their cars. Other students thought they were trapped

inside their building and reported that to distressed friends and parents. During that time,

a factual iReport posted by UWF allowed students to clarify the situations itself.

iReporting has become an important tool in getting footage quickly from natural

disaster areas. On January 12, 2010 when Haiti was devastated by an earthquake that was

7.0 on the Richter scale the first footage of that of the damage done came from cell

phones. iReports soon after came in via blogs and tweets that told stories of the

catastrophe that Haiti was just faced with. Andy Plesser (2010), executive producer at

Beet TV, explains iReports have not only been useful in assessing the destruction caused
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by the quake but iReports have helped at least four families find out if their loved ones

are alive and well (2010). CNN iReports page ended up adding a search function to help

families find their nearest and dearest that were missing in Haiti. CNN continues to get

iReports about the aftermath and living conditions in Haiti everyday.

The earthquake in Haiti is not the only one that has been covered recently by

CNN iReporters. Katie, an iReporter for CNN, was in Chile for the earthquake in

February that was 8.8 on the Richter scale. She references it as one of the scariest things

that has ever happened in her life and continues talking about the conditions of the

buildings, conditions in the surrounding areas, power outages, and the fires caused by

this quake. When discussing the aftermath of the earthquake, Katie (2010) reports, “So

far, we have had over 100 aftershocks, the strongest one here being this morning's 6.2 at

8:25AM. Now, the aftershocks are a lot less frequent than yesterday. I have felt only 5

since this morning's strong tremor.”

There have been many other instances of iReporting during times of natural

disaster. In February 2009 during a snow storm in Union County, Kentucky, many

uploaded pictures of road conditions. More recently, reports of an active volcano came in

from a plane that was flying overhead in Iceland. Last October when Typhoon Ketsana

hit the Philippines, hundreds of astounding photos hit the iReporting sites.

In the event of natural disaster the iReporter is one of the best tools to have for the

media and the public. In an interview with James Amerson (personal interview March 26,

2010), a local iReporter, he said he got his start when a tornado tore its way through the

streets of downtown Pensacola. He was able to “snap a few photos of it.” Citizens, who
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participate, can report on power lines, “twitpic” the conditions of the roads, help people

find displaced family members and warn others about perceived danger.

The political spectrum can be covered in detail through social media. A great

example of this is the coverage of the election in Iran which is currently active. Twitter is

constantly being updated with “tweets” about different occurrences in the election.

Citizens are going out with their cell phones and covering the event on the streets

including the violence. Links are also being posted to websites, stating opinions on the

matter. Events are being talked about and pictures are being posted on Facebook.

Since the American media has been banned from the country, iReporters utilize

social media. It is the only source of information exchange that they have to cover the

election. So it is left to speculation, if the content being posted is legitimate? There is a

conflict going on, but either side could be posting propaganda. The issue forces followers

of the event to wonder which side, if any, is being covered correctly. If mainstream

reporters are consistently unsure of that; therefore, the issue has so far been avoided in

the large networks.

The best quality of iReporting methods are through websites that have official

iReporters, such as the CNN.com. James Amerson, who was previously mentioned, has

actually done iReporting for CNN, and his work can be found on the CNN website. He

covered the zoo in Gulf Breeze. Whether or not the report is 100% credible is irrelevant,

people tend to trust iReporting. One reason for this oversight is because iReporters are

not reimbursed for their trouble. The presumption is made that there is no reason to

misinform the public.

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Pensacola iReporter, James Amerson, has been posting information to CNN for about

three years. “There is just too much iReporting for people to filter through. I feel that

iReporting is just an extra form of getting offbeat and different information. When it

comes to getting news about the war, the government or such things as that, people will

always go with the cover page or the top story reporting. I am sure that for the most part,

people will always depend on the traditional ways of the news media and relay mostly on

the regular forms of reporting,” he said.

One widely known story that was brought to us via Twitter was the U.S. Airways plane

crash on the Hudson River. Janus Krums, a ferry captain who was up on the latest social

media broke the news on his mini blog which then got sent through cyber space to

hundreds of thousands in minutes. Claudine Beaumont (2009) writes in the Krum story,

He used his mobile phone to take a dramatic snap of the downed plane, and uploaded it to

TwitPic, a service that enables Twitter users to instantly share their snaps over Twitter.

“There's a plane in the Hudson,’ Krums tweeted. ‘I'm on the ferry going to pick up the

people. Crazy.’"

Beaumont (2009) also discusses how Flickr was used by other eyewitnesses to

show compelling pictures of the plane as it went down and the heroic rescue efforts. She

goes on to discuss how Wikipedia “was almost instantly updated following the plane

crash, both to add a whole page about flight 1549, and also to amend an entry about water

landings, and the survival rate of those involved.” The pace of updates in information of a

crisis, such as the emergency plane landing, is surprising. The high speed updates allow

the main network media to get the information almost immediately.

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Conclusion

When Amerson was asked about what he thought about the future of iReporting

he responded, “With the changes that the internet has brought in the past several years, I

think it will be with us for a long time.” One way to secure a place for iReporting in the

future news reporting is to increase its prevalence in mainstream media by building

credibility. Although, it is not brand new, iReporting is still fairly new. It will take more

time to build a stronger sense of trust between the mainstream media and iReporters.

People are beginning to realize the potential this “kind of reporting freedom” is

having on the news today. It is issuing a form of a challenge to change the stagnant face

of the countless news talk shows and opinion polls that dominate every news channel one

turns too. It can be a great advantage to avoid the confines of the editor or network

channel.

This new form of media coverage will gain acceptance and more of a following in

years to come. Many people are realizing its benefits and uses in today’s age.

Investigative aptitude, overlooked small community niches and a wider scope of

viewpoints from all different backgrounds will only promote the need for diverse and

exceptional iReporters through our twentieth century.

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