In the year 2000, as the blogosphere was gaining notoriety and people were experimenting with how to use it, four South Koreans did the unthinkable. They released their blog to none other than a professional journalist’s worst nightmare… the average citizen (dun, dun, dun).

So, it wasn’t quite that dramatic. But the effect the launch of their site OhmyNews had on South Korea, its political culture and the blogosphere has been dramatic. Using the slogan, “every citizen is a reporter,” founder Oh Yeon-Ho is attempting to blur the lines between reporter and non-reporter and eventually destroy the concept of journalist and article all together, instead leaving a simple discussion between people.

The site, which in 2003 was composed of a staff of 53 “professionals” (reporters and editors) and more than 25,000 citizen reporters, merges real news with citizen commentary. Yeon-Ho calls the site a “complete demolition of conventional media logic and of the concept of journalists.” It takes the traditional model of news media and turns it upside down; news starts from the bottom up rather than top down.

But that isn’t all.

OhmyNews quickly gained notoriety among Web users, so much so that it is believed to have influenced the popular vote of the country to elect of President Roh Moo-hyun in 2003.

The lack of objectivity in a news blog as opposed to a traditional news source made this possible. OhmyNews covered the popularity of President Roh, especially within young voting demographics. Yeon-Ho described the change as a “desire for the reformation of politics,” if there hadn’t have been a desire for change, the political side of the site wouldn’t have taken off or had the effect it did.

Our country faces a similar issue today. The appearance of campaign websites in the early 1990s and the influence of news and citizen blogs are changing the face of politics.

Issues and appearances that may have been minor before are now discussed between citizens and incorporated within traditional news media on a constant basis. Citizens are filling the gaps traditional news organizations leave out leaving not a single aspect of the process or the candidates unanalyzed.

But, this is not necessarily negative. Competition between real journalists and citizen journalists means improved quality, says Yeon-Ho. “When a New York Times reporter writes an article and an ordinary citizen – whether he is a professor or neighbor – writes an article criticizing it splendidly, then the citizen becomes the winner.”

Though sites like OhmyNews may be a professional journalists’ worst nightmare, the redefinition they bring to the field means more voices and more discussion and, for us, a better democracy.

Discussion Questions:

Why does the blogosphere have the ability to influence elections, specifically in countries like South Korea? Why does it work in America and how does it differ?

How do you foresee mixing citizen and traditional journalist voices will affect our country in ways aside from politics?