CHICAGO, IL. – (July 2, 2009) - The world of social media is constantly evolving and Columbia continues to keep up with the times.
This June, the Associate Chair of the Journalism Department, Suzanne McBride, spent seven days in Thailand as part of the U.S. Embassy’s Public Affairs speaker program. From June 16-20, McBride held workshops in Bangkok, Hat Yai, and Chiang Mai for Thai citizen journalists. The workshops focused on the emerging field of citizen journalism, an innovative new branch of reporting that allows non-professional journalists a chance to inform the public about issues that are underrepresented. This new realm of journalism also provides a platform for voices and opinions that may otherwise be excluded from the mainstream media.
McBride used her workshops to discuss the growing importance of new media tools and their role in citizen journalism, including information on legal risks, ethics, and responsibilities, funding, and how to use current social media like Twitter, blogging, and YouTube to broaden the reach of their stories.
During her time in Thailand, McBride met with more than 100 citizen journalists, members of the mainstream media, as well as students and professors. “It was fascinating to meet with everyday people doing journalism in Thailand,” she says. Her interactive seminars were also attended by participants in the Thai PBS’ civic journalism program and members of the Thai Netizen Network.
For McBride, an award-winning journalist and co-founder and co-publisher of ChicagoTalks.org, her trip to Thailand was a remarkable one. “It was eye-opening to see how hard it can be for them (Thai people) to get information from their government,” she explains. “That’s a lesson I hope to highlight again and again here at Columbia – we need to take advantage of the many freedoms we have here, because not every country is as open as ours.”
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