ql-align-justify"> Citizen journalism is a contemporary social practice made possible by new media, where ordinary individuals use digital tools such as smartphones and social media to gather, report, and share news.In the Philippine context, citizen journalism is strongly reflected in the rise of vloggers who use social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and X to report events, express opinions, and document everyday realities. These vloggers function as citizen journalists by capturing local issues including traffic conditions, natural disasters, community concerns, social injustices, and government actions using smartphones and affordable digital tools. In a country where social media use is among the highest in the world, this practice has become a powerful part of everyday civic participation.

Citizen journalism through vlogging is defined by its multimodal communicative features. Filipino vloggers combine video footage, spoken narration in Filipino, English, or Taglish, on-screen text, background music, emojis, and visual cues to create engaging and emotionally resonant messages.

Communication is also interactive and participatory, as audiences actively comment, react, share content, and sometimes contribute their own perspectives or eyewitness accounts. This interaction allows information to circulate quickly and creates a sense of collective engagement, especially during national events, elections, or crises such as typhoons and earthquakes. At the same time, vlogger-based citizen journalism is shaped by local culture, humor, and values, making content more relatable to Filipino audiences than traditional news media.

However, this practice also presents challenges. Issues such as misinformation, political bias, sensationalism, and the influence of algorithms can distort public understanding. Not all citizens have equal access to technology, which may reinforce digital divides and unequal representation.

These realities have important implications for literacies pedagogy in the Philippines. Literacy education must move beyond print-based skills and focus on multiliteracies, including digital, media, and critical literacies. Students need to learn how to evaluate the credibility of vloggers, analyze multimodal content, recognize bias, and practice ethical content creation. By engaging with citizen journalism in local contexts, schools can help learners become critical, responsible, and empowered participants in Philippine digital democracy.

References:

[1] https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/opinion/2022/06/07/2186598/journalists-versus-vloggers

[2] https://institute.aljazeera.net/en/ajr/article/1966

Breaking news? Nah — Filipinos are watching vloggers instead