Comments on: Definition For A Citizen Journalist

By: sadcox

sadcox — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:24:04 +0000

I figured out pretty early on when blogging about local news that:

1) I’m (barely) qualified to talk about my own personal accounts and opinions
2) I don’t want the responsibility that comes with being a journalist, so even those personal accounts and opinions need to be carefully considered before I put them out there for everyone to read.

I am not (and don’t want to be) a citizen journalist.

It’s called a “profession” for a reason–the people that practice it are professionals at it.

By: newscoma

newscoma — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:18:58 +0000

That’s a very good point, Paul. I like the way your thinking.
Citizen Journalist really is to broad a term because there are rules. And anyone that considers themselves a citizen journalist needs to understand the huge responsibility that goes with it.
That’s one of the biggest complaints I here from established journalists regarding blogging.

By: Paul Chenoweth

Paul Chenoweth — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:14:36 +0000

I think it is a good start for a definition. To me, that sounds more like the definition for a ‘citizen broadcaster’ or ‘citizen voice’. I would expect someone who accepts the label of ‘citizen journalist’ to acknowledge responsibility/accountability for ethics, accuracy, and fairness.

This is a discussion that needs to see more daylight.