Citizen Journalists Report on the Moment; Not the Aftermath

First of all, it must be said that the citizen journalists in Blacksburg, Virginia on Monday April 16, 2007 placed their own lives at risk in order to "capture the moment." Citizens who put their lives at risk by recording history should be commended for their bravery in helping the rest of the country and world understand the events that took place on the campus of Virginia Tech that day.

If you log onto CNN this morning the coverage would look the same as any other major story over the past few years. The main page is dominated by the story with up-to-the-minute information and video of official press conferences. However, delve a little deeper into the page and you come across CNN's I-Report.

To me, this is citizen journalism breaking ground on a major news story. Instead of generic TV interviews of "where were you when IT happened?" CNN has a slideshow showing viewers where citizen journalists were when the shooting happened and what those citizen journalists were doing at the time.

For the first time I can remember, traditional news media tried to recount what happened instantly. For as long as I can remember, traditional news has focused on the aftermath of a major event and waited for official reports or press conferences to report on the event itself. Citizen journalism is ushering in a new era of reporting, we now focus on the actual event immediately following its occurrence. Looking and reading through CNN's I-Report slideshow instills the fear and terror that must have been flowing through these student's bodies during the attack.

One photo struck at my heart above all other. It was taken by Nancy Love, a civic and environmental engineering professor. The photo is labeled the "eerie view" because it shows 13 ambulances lined up and waiting for victims. Traditional news outlets would never have been able to get this photo. Journalism, like the photo taken by Nancy Love, is helping this country understand and cope with this tragedy. On a personal level, I am grateful to those brave souls who stood up and took pictures and videos in the face of danger to tell this horrific story to the rest of us.