Citizen Journalism - Good or Bad?
This video gives a short definition of Citizen Journalism
Citizen Journalism has the potential to be both great and detrimental. One of the first citizen journalists was Ben Franklin. Without any formal instruction or training, Franklin fast became renowned as a leading mind in America, and as a respected journalist (http://bfranklinjournalism.wordpress.com/2011/02/16/citizen-journalism-101-what-is-journalism/). The problem with citizen journalism is authenticity. With studying journalism comes the learning of certain principles, methods and codes of ethics. These ensure that not only is the journalist ethical in their writing and reporting of a story, but that the story is in fact truthful. With citizen journalism, none of these traits are inherent. A citizen journalist, in the majority of cases, will have little or no idea how to write in a balanced, informative and ethical manner.
Another problem is the fact that most, not all, but most citizens would not have the ability to write in a journalistic style. The writing of news is done following specific rules and using specific methods that ensure that the most important information is readily available, with the less important and less relevant following.
"As a bit of a reality check, when was the last time you encountered a "citizen doctor", valued a report by a "citizen researcher", took off in a plane flown by a "citizen pilot" or saw justice meted out by "citizen policeman"?"
(http://blogs.theage.com.au/media/archives/2006/10/citizen_journal.html)
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