In 2004 , when the 9.1-magnitude underwater earthquake caused a huge tsunami in Banda Aceh Indonesia and across the Indian Ocean , a weblog-based virtual network of previously unrelated bloggers emerged that covered the news in real-time , and became a vital source for the traditional media for the first week after the tsunami . A large amount of news footage from many people who experienced the tsunami was widely broadcast , as well as a good deal of " on the scene " citizen reporting and blogger analysis that was subsequently picked up by the major media outlets worldwide . Subsequent to the citizen journalism coverage of the disaster and aftermath , researchers have suggested that citizen journalists may , in fact , play a critical role in the disaster warning system itself , potentially with higher reliability than the networks of tsunami warning equipment based on technology alone which then require interpretation by disinterested third parties
the 9.1-magnitude underwater earthquake caused a huge
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
Citizen journalism