Sina Weibo was born in 2009, iPhone4 was launched in 2010 and WeChat came into being in 2011. Once such hardware and software were in place, someone remarked: “Everyone is a journalist”.
That sent a chill down the spine of many a journalist, including this author who had freshly graduated and taken up the job of a journalist. If everybody is a journalist, then what about me, is there still a job for me, I asked myself.
A clearer answer has emerged today with the evolution of the field of public opinion. Compared with 2010, this year has seen the rise and fall of many social media platforms, more self-media accounts and there will be many more such developments. With 1.08 billion people having access to mobile internet in China alone, it”s becoming increasingly common for people to access umpteen videos on social networking sites by just swiping their smartphones.
During my visits to even the remotest of villages I have seen residents accessing videos on their smartphones, such is the penetration of the internet. They all have their favorite livestreamers, too, whom they follow religiously every day, and every time something happens somewhere, hundreds, or even thousands, rush to the site, smartphone in hand, to report live from the spot.
It’s good to see everyone having a smartphone to express what they feel about something, but one cannot deny that sometimes one might watch hundreds of video clips from a place and still be in the dark as to what actually happened.
There is still the need for professional, rational and balanced voices through trustworthy channels to give clarity. That is why we still need journalists to do a better job of giving us news and views.
Especially when it comes to public opinion, it’s a challenging job to tell things logically and without any bias, without triggering too many emotions, something that only a professional journalist can do.
We don’t mean to antagonize self-media and professional journalists. On the contrary, professional journalists can work for social media platforms, while self-media can innovate and be more professional in their approach. Maybe a time will come when the line between the two will blur.
As Wednesday marks the 24th Journalists’ Day of China, and everyone is a journalist, we wish everyone well. Long live the profession!
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