Abstract

The introduction highlights a number of pressing issues in relation to citizen journalism, exemplified by case studies from the US, Britain, Malaysia, and Liberia. Taken together, they are indicative of a communication continuum that stretches from global news organizations, such as CNN and the BBC, to the lone voices of individuals struggling to be heard against dauntingly formidable odds. Celebratory proclamations about the “global village” engendered by Web 2.0 ring hollow when we are reminded, in turn, that the majority of the world’s population has never made a telephone call, let alone logged on to a computer. Accordingly, Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives will endeavor to delve beneath the rhetoric of globalization in seeking to examine the spontaneous actions of ordinary people—more often than not in the wrong place at the wrong time—compelled to adopt the role of reporter. In so doing, it strives to engage with several of the most significant topics for this important area of inquiry from fresh, challenging perspectives. Its aim is not to set down the terms of debate, but rather to encourage new forms of dialogue.