MIDTERM EXAMINATION - Moraga, Vince

 Moraga, Vince Janssen F.                                     BAJ 2B

Midterm Exam

1. Using your own words, compare Citizen Journalism to Community Journalism. 5-10 sentences only

-Stories bloom better if it is handled by the right people. Media professionals cannot always give justice to their stories especially if they are alien to the experiences of the community. Meanwhile, citizens are the opposite, lacking the technicalities but having the experiences enough to present a more compassionate output compared to the professionals. That is the difference between citizen journalism and community journalism.

Citizen Journalism is akin to being an audience member of a concert and recording it with your own phone, taking notes via the immersion of thoughts and emotions as a long time fan. The experience and the following output can never be taken away from you, and can be made meaningful especially with the shared struggles and joys along with fellow audiences; It is the power of your own memories shaping the world via all kinds of storytelling methods.

Community Journalism focuses on the lives, livelihood, and ultimately the future of a community in relation towards its environment. Those with ancestral lands such as the collective Lumad and those who are being displaced due to infrastructures spearheaded by the rich are the conflicts that must be opened to the public to raise awareness and to take action as concerned citizens who are usually affected too, on a national scale.

Neither is greater than the other, only necessary concepts and forces in a world where journalism serves its people, and the people preserve what journalism cannot protect alone.

2. Which social issues in the Philippines can be addressed by Community Journalism? Explain by how and why. 5-10 sentences only. 

Community Journalism makes people take action. Right now, environmental activists heavily condemn the Bulacan International Airport (or New Manila International Airport) that has affected several coastal communities, including Brgy. Taliptip and Brgy. Binuangan, as well as destroying the biodiversity of mangroves and fisheries. Mainstream media companies cannot cover these stories and follow their trail for all sorts of socio-political and economical constraints. With community journalism, the residents may have a chance to win back their communities, their livelihoods, and their dignity as the natives of their community. However, stories cannot simply be made and assume all will end well.

Until the issues of military surveillance, insufficient remuneration, destruction of ecosystems, and all such conflicts are liberated from the people's backs, the coverage must not stop. Let the people know, let them know how to help beyond prayers. Become bastions and walls against the threat of incoming poverty due to inhumane and unethical projects of the powerful. The only way to stop powerhouses is through mass education, immersion, and mass organization. Community journalism, with enough support, encouragement, and passion, can change the world and turn the tides towards sustainable development.