Anyone in Zimbabwe can be a Citizen Journalist (CJ).
Remember CJ is participatory media practice that promotes the free flow of ideas and information.
The general election year of 2023 has more young people connected to the internet compared to the previous years.
There is an opportunity for Citizen journalism to fill up the news and information gaps needed to involve the public in national development and socio-economic topics available on the internet.
In essence the more people we have to freely express themselves and impart new ideas, the more we push for a democratic society that is driven by the people.
Remember we want to stay within the confines of sharing ideas, creating platforms for debate and story telling.
Here is a list of how one can practice citizen journalism in this election year of 2023.
As a citizen journalist, you can use social messenger apps and social media sites to create planforms for debate and engagement.
Example.
In the context of elections, you may record a video of young people asking them general questions on elections such as.
You then take that video and share it in your community WhatsApp groups or micro blogging sites such as twitter to create a platform for debate and exchange of ideas.
By this, your participatory journalism will have promoted the youth to actively participate in Socio-political discourse.
This way, you would have played your part as a citizen journalist to create a space of democratic debate regarding the youth and their right to vote.
As a Citizen Journalist, you can also capture moments and activities in your community to share with world.
Following solution driven activities by communities is a major gap that needs to be filled by citizen journalists this election year of 2023.
At present, Zimbabwe is in dire need of solutions.
You can actively participate by capturing moments of your community’s efforts in solving local problems.
For example.
You can an interview with a restaurant owner who offers a free meal to first time registered voters in their ward or constituency.
Capturing such moments through citizen journalism will democratise the media space and shift the negative stereotype of voter apathy associated with Zimbabwean youth.
Lastly, you can use Citizen Journalism to tell stories in your community.
This could be through
Example.
During campaigns, you can invest your time in collecting footage and talking to the public regarding how they feel and perceive elections.
Remember you have to be safe and ask for consent.
Next we shall take a deep dive into ethics and responsible use of the media in Citizen Journalism.