To me, it is not the source of facts or opinions that distinguishes citizen journalism from the mainstream - just because a story or picture comes from a reader does not make it a piece of citizen journalism. Instead, it boils down to who selects and decides what stories to pursue and publish. Editing is what separate journalism from gossip. STOMP, like the rest of ST, is edited by professional ST journalists, not ordinary citizens. Citizen journalism has unrealised potential in Singapore ....... Most promising, I think, are the special interest areas or "beats" in which considerable expertise exists outside of the media. A taste of things to come is found in Mr Wang Says So, who uses his legal training to provide legal analysis that is often superior to ST's; Dawn Kua's blog on animal issues; and Chua Ai Lin's Singapore heritage mailing list .... If you know of other "expert" Singaporean blogs in specialised areas, I would love to receive your recommendations.
Cherian says that the promising bloggers are those who have "considerable expertise" in "specialised areas". He seems to be thinking of highly specialised and therefore narrow fields (law, animal rights, Singapore history). Since generalists outnumber specialists, Cherian might believe that few bloggers have the potential to become the kind of star citizen journalists he has in mind.
However, I tend to think that the vast majority of bloggers are experts, or at least potential experts, in at least one area. I even daresay that many of us are experts in more than one area. This is simply by virtue of the fact that all of us have offline lives, jobs, hobbies and experiences.
If for example you are a human resource officer, you could well be an expert commentator on employment issues and the Singapore job market. If you are a self-employed businessman, you could well be an expert commentator on commercial issues in Singapore and the region. If you are a local university undergrad, you could well be an expert commentator on tertiary education in Singapore. If you are a property agent, you could well be an expert commentator on the Singapore property market.
In each of my above examples, you could well be a far more expert commentator than any SPH journalist. This is because the journalist, by virtue of being a full-time journalist, is therefore not a full-time human resource officer, businessman, undergrad or property agent. Therefore he cannot possibly have as much expertise as the full-time human resource officer, businessman, undergrad or property agent, in the respective fields.
The further question, of course, is whether you have the inclination, motivation or writing ability to blog regularly, and well, about your area or (areas) of expertise.
Cherian, you asked for recommendations of other "expert" Singaporean blogs in specialised areas. Here are some for you:
Yawning Bread - By Alex Au, gay activist. A specialist blog on gay issues in Singapore.
Tan Kin Lian's Blog - By Tan Kin Lian, NTUC Income CEO. A specialist blog on insurance and investment.
The Students' Notebook - By En & Hou, two students. A specialist blog on education issues at the secondary, JC and polytechnic level.
Chubby Hubby - By Chubby Hubby, food connoisseur. A specialist blog on fine dining, wines and cooking.
SG Entrepreneurs - By a team of entrepreneurs and business students. A specialist blog on entrepreneurship.
Singapore Alternatives - By Goh Meng Seng, Workers' Party member. A specialist blog on politics in Singapore.
Angry Doctor - By Angry Doctor, a doctor working in Singapore. A specialist blog on medical and healthcare issues in Singapore.
Rambling Librarian - By Rambling Librarian, a librarian. A specialist blog on Singapore's libraries and reading culture.
Life Coaches Blog - By Alvin Soon, life coach. A specialist blog on self-improvement.
Weekeegeepee - By CP, a General Paper teacher. A specialist blog on the General Paper, a compulsory subject for junior college students.
The Annotated Budak - By Budak, biodiversity researcher. A specialist blog on biodiversity, nature and environmental conservation in Singapore.
More links later. Gotta run.
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Technorati: Singapore.
11 comments:
Thanks for the mention, Mr Wang P :)
Can we say Mr Brown is also a specialist blogger?
He is a full-time Singaporean.
:)
I believed you've missed out The Singapore Angle.
This is great, thank you. It confirms my hunch that there's a wellspring of expertise in Singapore, capable of generating a not insignificant citizen journalism movement. See my earlier post about its potential.
Right, I thought that contributions to STOMP like "Storm Strippers: Men clad in underwear wading in a monsoon drain in Gambas Avenue" was a little underwhelming as examples of citizen journalism.
But it will be narrow to call Alex Au just a gay activist, Mr Wang just a legal specialist and mr brown just a joker. All three are sharp social commentators, which, if I understand Cherian correctly, falls under the category of "counter-hegemonic commentary".
I find it uncanny how Cherian George's remarks on specialists and their blogs fits so nicely with the Government's objection to Mr Brown straying into overt political comment. Saying bloggers should stick to what they know implies that we all should leave political comment to the politicians, the 'experts' in that field. Despite all the protest over the axing of Mr Brown's column, does this thread signify meek acquiescence?
"But it will be narrow to call Alex Au just a gay activist, Mr Wang just a legal specialist and mr brown just a joker. All three are sharp social commentators, which, if I understand Cherian correctly, falls under the category of "counter-hegemonic commentary"."
Alex Au doesn't have a problem with being identified as a gay activist, as he felt that was at the heart of what he does. (See his latest entry on that). However, he doesn't have a problem with being called a civil rights activist either.
They are all social commentators, but they have their special interests that results in a different take, and focus on a different angle on any one particular incident. Social commentator's a bit broad.
Political scientists. So in love with labels. (academic joke here)
To borrow a line from the feminist movement:"The personal is political."
everything is political. That's why it's very easy to simply accuse someone of "meddling in politics".
Mr Wang,
Thank you for honourable mention.
We just turn one year old today. :)
Best regards,
BL
Just read a quote from Karl Marx: in a communist society, "nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes...to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticise after dinner."
That must be why critical blogs are frowned on - it smells like communism to those in power. But communism didn't go wrong from too much criticism.
Dear Mr. Wang,
In comparison to many great politicians of the last century, I am just a very amateurish starter in this field! I am no expert, really.
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