CNN iReport Critique

CNN iReport is a citizen journalist site that seems to be very popular (almost 240,000 worldwide reports). However, these numbers lead me to look for quality, not quantity. After browsing the site, there are positives, there are negatives, and in the end, we are left with nothing that is more than a subpar site.

One of the great things about the site is its easy access. Anyone can sign up, so long as you have a valid e-mail address. Anyone who has the internet can watch the videos. The site is very navigable, finding a video is very simple. The homepage consists of both a fresh news section, as well as a “Newsiest Now” section. So the homepage brings attention to what would be both the newest and most substantial videos.

Another quality of this site I will have to remain impartial on is the tagline. “Unedited. Unfiltered. News.” That is the heading of the page. What makes the idea of citizen journalism great is it can bring daily issues to the frontline of news, and citizens can take a definite stand, and be strong in supporting their beliefs. As long as the video shows no law breaking, I believe that citizen journalism should be purely unedited. Let every expletive ring, so long as it is covering a substantial news topic.

The disadvantage to this unfiltered news is the fact that just about anything can go up on this website. That being the problem, I would have expected to hear profanity, maybe see some graphic images covering very sensitive issues, but that was not the unfiltered quality I got. I logged on to find a new video posted entitled “G-mail Fails.” The title sounds relevant, namely because in order to blog on this site, I need G-mail. Why is it a failing mail server? What are the issues?

The video showed nothing other than a man on camera for 22 seconds saying he could not access his e-mail. He mentioned their website not mentioning any issues. He mentioned that people rely on their e-mail. The man made valid points, but I hardly consider a mail server being down for less than an hour news, especially if the video covering it is only 22 seconds long. I love the free speech approach. Let the citizens give any news they want, but filter it to make sure it is actually news.

I logged onto a website that was affiliated with the biggest exclusively news television station in the country, what I found was a guy talking about how he cannot access his e-mail, who won the Oscars, and pictures of Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras and the Oscars are two huge events that get so much mass media coverage, and this citizen journalist site gave coverage no more in depth, no more real, and no more substantial than the mass media.
I understand some blame has to go with the citizens. The stories that are covered are nothing we can’t find in the mass media, and CNN does not post them. However, at the end of the day, the CNN logo is on this page. This site allows too many picture slideshows to come across as in depth journalism, and CNN for credibility’s sake needs to filter.