Ethical Citizen Media

Citizens worldwide are in need of equal access to the newest technology and innovations that increase citizen participation and influence social change. Ethical Citizen Media (ECM) applies universally applicable Citizen Journalist tactics ;that preserve and gain human rights and social justice. The objectives of Ethical Citizen Media are to:
1) Provide indigenous peoples with safe and ethical journalist tactics through training, certification, and mentorships.
2) Increase participation in citizen journalism and social justice, by providing ethical recording, reporting and training, and technology.
Ethical Citizen Media (ECM) was originally submitted to Citizen Media: A Global Innovation Competition in July of 2011. The success of the ECM project was measured in its use in the Occupy movement in Los Angles. As part of preserving the peace in the city, several citizen journalists used the model ;in combination with security and media coverage of the events. Success in this particular social movement was measured in the fact that Los Angles was a model for peaceful protests. Anonymity and safety was maintained by protecting the identities of on the ground practitioners. Ethical Citizen Media Journalists developed working relationships with authorities, and local media -who often relied on both our security, and information for their mainstream reporting.
Citizen Media refers to the ways in which audiences can become participants in the media using the different resources offered. In the modern age, new technologies have brought about different media -that have since become the framework for increasing citizen-participation in addressing social issues. Ethical Citizen Media allows the average citizen to participate in the transformative processes of change and events within their communities.
The idea behind Citizen Journalism is that people without professional journalism training can learn to use the tools of modern technology; and the global distribution of the Internet, to create, augment, and fact-check media on their own or in collaboration with others.
Citizen Media has bloomed with the advent of technological tools and systems that facilitate production and distribution of media. Of these technologies, none has advanced Citizen Media more than the Internet. With the spreading of these ideas comes the need to put in place programs that educate and provide the materials needed to facilitate Ethical Citizen Media and journalism in under-served areas of the world.
The innovation of the Ethical Citizen Media project is that it uses new technology to deliver learning that goes beyond the classroom and into communities. By increasing citizen participation in social and civil activities, Ethical Citizen Media engages populations. These are the communities that would benefit most from the introduction of these programs, because such programs provide access to tools that “first world” citizens have had for almost a decade.
Advances in technology, and the use of social media and mobile devices, levels the playing field between traditional media sources and the common citizen. Additionally, ECM increases access to social events such as news, reports of abuse, and social participation for those who have a limited voice in social change. ECM respects the values and ethics of the culture in which it is used, while being aligned with international human rights laws.
For example, Citizen Media and Citizen Journalism allow the novice reporter to share information ranging from a city council meeting to an online forum. Or practitioners can fact-check a newspaper article from the mainstream media and point out factual errors or bias on a blog. Practitioners are also able to snap a digital photo of a newsworthy event happening in their community and post it online, or videotape an event and post it on a site such as You Tube.