A critique: Here comes everybody

The article written by Hajrah Mumtaz titled Here comes everybody tackles a very pertinent issue vis--vis the current age o in ormation! the dissemination o the thoughts and impressions o the common man or the viewership o the entire world" This notion encapsulates the cru# o the article where Hajrah hersel attempts to provide an unbiased analysis o both sides o the argumentation with relevant e#amples to support each viewpoint" The signi icance o this article is indicative in the act that it is pertinent to every single individual who uses the internet in this day and age to keep themselves updated on the news around the world and who would inevitably be the viewers o this article as well" This article is an argumentative piece in which the author tries to rationally present both sides o the argument as to whether the mass upsurge in what she has termed as citizens journalism! the average citizen publishing news and views on the internet$ in the recent times$ is bene icial or detrimental to our society" %he presents the two opposing points o view& in which the proponents claim that this orm o journalism is by the people or the people as they include both the users as well as the contributors o in ormation due to which there is no apparent gap in perspective in emanation and subse'uent interpretation" The writer also claims that the veracity o this genre o journalism is not a ected by the actors such as pro itability$ marketing image etc and this allows these accounts to be presented as unvarnished as possible" (n the lipside$ the detractors o this argument claim this orm o journalism has ushered in an era o in ormational overload which has signi icantly a ected the 'uality o in ormation that is present on the internet" The authenticity o the in ormation provided by anonymous resources is also a serious cause o concern as the divide between truth ul and theatrical cannot be ascertained in these accounts" The irst e#ample is o the video o a little girl who is being logged by bearded men who are assumed to be Taliban" The author describes how this video ound its way onto the internet and then onto mainstream media& and the une'uivocal brutality that was depicted in this video helped in polarizing the public sentiment against the Taliban and in avor o army action against them" The second 'uoted e#ample consisted o a video o army o icial severely beating some people who had merely been detained on the purpose o allegation" This video was instrumental in adding uel to the claims o human rights activists against the army o human rights violations and stayed in media rage or sometime be ore simmering out& same being the ate o the video in the irst e#ample" The writer then critically analyzes the two e#amples in consideration o the viewpoints that she presented earlier by considering all the possible acets that could have transpired vis-vis the creation o the two videos and how they a ect the worth o both lines o reasoning" The issue o journalistic responsibility also comes into consideration as citizens journalism is usually anonymous and doesnt bear the burden o accountability as ormal journalism does$ due to which any person could move along any tangent to urther their personal aspirations even at the e#pense o another part" )inally$ despite the act that she accepts the logic and trueness o

some aspects o both sides o the argument$ she concludes her article by throwing her weight ever so slightly towards ormal journalism as she eels that it does hold a relative advantage in this debate" *ersonally$ + eel that this certainly is a well written piece" The choice o title irst o all$ is very succinct and captures the thought that is to be presented in the article! the sheer volume o in ormation that is now being shared on the internet& both by users and contributors" +n that$ + eel that the author is able to engage the germane readers o this piece i"e" internet users$ who can relate to the title" The article commences with an introduction o the presented argument which is immediately ollowed by the proposition and opposition" ,oth cases are well de ined and provide a basic insight into the thought process behind their ormation" Hajra uses some key terms in the article such as citizens journalism and she has done well to de ine them with the appropriate degree o objectivity without creating any unnecessary stereotypes which is critical or any argumentative piece" - ter clearing de ining the viewpoints o both sides$ Hajra takes a uni'ue way orward in her article! she sheds light on two cases relevant to the topic at hand and then relates them to proposition and opposition! as opposed to the opposite method in which argumentative pieces are usually structured" This method has a bene icial impact on the piece as the reader is able to view the e#ample rom a completely unembellished view and then see the relation to the arguments" This$ + eel$ is not the case in the usual ormat o argumentative essays where e#amples o proposition and opposition are read with the mental lag that they belong to one side o the argument& hence$ subliminally$ creating a subconscious opinion in the mind o the reader be ore they even read the entire piece" )urthermore$ the choice o e#amples is 'uite commendable as both e#amples make use o a common actor i"e" the army and shows how power ul citizens journalism is$ as both e#amples depict the army in completely di erent lights" +n this way$ the reader is able to compare the e#amples on an even keel and subse'uently make the connection between the e#amples and the two viewpoints" The most critical part o the article$ in my opinion$ was the analysis provided a ter the e#amples" Hajra was able to completely dissect the e#amples by considering most possible aspects o the e#amples and was able to success ully link them to some o the key components o the debate! taking responsibility and ownership o the content$ ensuring integrity and veracity o the content and the level o adulteration that is brought in ormal journalism" -ll these actors proceeded to add weight or reduce the authority o either o the two viewpoints which served the purpose o using e#amples to the tee"