Herewith we offer you an article about citizen journalism in the regions from Mirlan Kadyrov, a participant in the Development of Media Criticism Program in Kyrgyzstan.
*Translation from Kyrgyz
There is a heated public debate going on currently whether citizen journalism can replace professional journalism. The number of bloggers on social media like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram is on the rise. But judged in terms of journalistic standards, their work is frowned upon by many.
On the example of the Naryn region bloggers, we decided to find out the way they work and what difficulties they face.
For the past five years, Naryn blogger Erkezhan Iskakova has been making videos of local events that have caught her attention and sharing them on her Facebook page. Sometimes she gets involved in conflicts and begins to deal with the situation. Sometimes these cases are accompanied by surprises.
Three years ago, unknown people sent her a mysterious package. Inside were… the severed head and tongue of a dog. Isakova attributes this to her blogging activities:
– I videotape the disreputable deeds of At-Bashy district local authority and share them on social media. For example, a child care facility was to be built in At-Bashi village and several million KG soms were allocated from the budget for these purposes. But the money is gone, and the kindergarten has never been completed. I have constantly raised this issue.
In the end, a civil servant involved in this case was detained and punished. But someone was to be disappointed with what I was doing.
One day I got a package sent by someone to my home. Inside was the dog’s head and its tongue. At first, when I saw it, I was very angry and upset. I took it to mean, “if you don’t shut up, we’ll cut out your tongue, too.” Sure, this did not affect my activities, but at the time I was very much hoping for support from the public.
Isakova then appealed to the police with a statement. Although a criminal case was initiated, the sender of the parcel has not been found in the last three years.
Isakova shared what she feels like to be a blogger today:
– Before, she had worked as a correspondent for a district newspaper. Then she got more involved in civic activism and therefore left the newspaper. However, having a well-established journalistic position, she openly stated the social problems of the district and demanded their solution from the relevant authorities. Of course, I told people about it from my social media pages. I did not chase a goal to be a blogger. But it saddens me that when things get tough, no one takes your side – not society, not friends and acquaintances, not even laws.
There are few people in Naryn like Erkezhan who chose citizen journalism and became bloggers. One of these few people is a 27-year-old resident of Naryn, Asylbek Orozbayev. He is a local entrepreneur.
– When you see that Naryn’s problems are not solved, you can not just keep silent. For example, the mayor’s office took a grant of 10 million euros from international organizations to replace the city’s water and sewage pipes. But the work was done poorly and the pipes periodically burst. This created a lot of inconvenience to the townspeople. On my Facebook page, I went live to talk about the shoddy work of the company that implemented the grant. In addition, I raised many other problems,”- he says.
Orozbayev says blogging is not a means of making money for him. He is not one who actively maintains their accounts and earns money by placing ads.
However, it is no secret that such bloggers are subjected to threats and pressure.
In early July, the well-known blogger Ulukbek Karybek uulu posted a video “Ош облустук оңолбос төрөт үйү” (“Problematic Osh regional maternity hospital”) on his YouTube channel.
Lately, the Interior Ministry reported that the blogger broke into the Ministry of Health building in the Pervomaisky district of Bishkek, violating public order and a protocol was drawn up on him “for disobeying the lawful demands of the police”.
Osh police reported that on July 7 they received a statement from the doctors of the maternity hospital that the blogger broke the door of the maternity ward, shot video without permission, interfered with the work of doctors and caused material damage worth 37 thousand soms. The doctors asked to take appropriate measures. A criminal case was initiated against the blogger Ulukbek Karybek uulu under the article “Hooliganism” of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic.
The Osh City Court recognized Karybek uulu’s detention as lawful but did not satisfy the investigator’s request to remand him in custody for two months, releasing the blogger on his recognizance.
The founder of the Prevention media platform Almaz Ismanov shares his opinion:
– Kyrgyzstan has bloggers, but citizen journalism is very weak. Citizen journalists adhere to certain rules, keep a balance in their materials, and give the opinion of all sides.
Bloggers take their smartphones and go where the conflict is and one-sidedly cover it live. Now people don’t treat bloggers well. I am far from calling them citizen journalists.
Today, everyone is taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the internet. And the content of bloggers sometimes has a more significant impact on public opinion than the content of traditional journalism. Experts note that citizen journalism is gradually replacing the traditional one, but it is still very weak.
Bloggers who strive to adhere to journalistic standards don’t have that much influence yet.
Mirlan Kadyrov
