3Qs: Citizen journalism in Ferguson
Tensions have escalated in Ferguson, Missouri, following the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American teenager, by a white police officer. The incident has led to peaceful protests as well as clashes between the community and the police, and citizen journalists have been reporting on the ground via social media to help spread the story across the globe. Sarah Jackson is an assistant professor of communication studies in Northeastern University's College of Arts, Media, and Design. Her research and teaching focuses on how social and political identities are constructed in the public sphere, with a particular focus on how race and gender are constructed in national debates around citizenship, inequality, and social movements. Here, Jackson examines both the citizen journalists and mainstream media's coverage and their future implications.