Dubai: As I write this I am reading a one-line alert about men advancing with knives towards anti-Mubarak protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square. There's a second-by-second update from a young person who goes by the name of ‘Organica'.

Real-time perspective of what was happening in the Egyptian unrest, faster than any of the media outlets — not by professional journalists but the citizens of Twitter also known as Tweeps.

Social media and citizen journalism has turned newsrooms and news organisations inside out. It is no longer the prerogative of the privileged few who decide the what, when, where and why of a story, sometimes even the who.

Several decades ago, The Washington Post created the position of an ombudsman — a person who would address reader complaints, queries and issues. You also had Letters Editors, who managed the musings of readers to a newspaper. But, there was only so much the man on the street could convey to the editors.

Then the world's largest industry started hitting stalemate, new readers were far and few. This led to the push for interactivity and reader participation. Editors, reporters and journalists were given an almost real-time feedback on their work and efforts. Once citizen journalism took root and technology stepped in, interactivity went viral. One of the well-known examples is that the first media alert of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was by a tourist who sent a picture to a Scandinavian newspaper. From reader tip-offs to crowd sourcing, wherein citizens became reporters — it was the coming of age with The Huffington Post coverage of US President Obama's campaign for office.

People were everywhere; hence through them the media was present to capture what would otherwise have been lost in the cracks of history.

Today interactivity and citizen journalism defines news coverage. It makes it sharper, focused and as close to the ground reality as possible. The Jasmine Revolution that poured into Egypt, to take root, is a clear example of this transition. The frontlines of reporting have changed and people are not going to relent.

Closer to home

Gulf News has witnessed its own fusion through community reports, incident pictures and in-depth packages — all driven by readers over the past five years.

The recent case of a four-year-old girl from Dubai allegedly assaulted in a school bus on her way home generated intense reader reaction. Parents, educators and students wrote in. The strongest was when former rape victims and their families narrated experiences.

Gulf News, gulfnews.com and XPRESS were able to have sustained coverage reflective of their readership. Community journalism and interactivity has resulted in journalism that ensures it is a voice of the people, for the people and by the people.