Response – Post 7

While studying journalism during my undergraduate career the topic of citizen journalism was really starting to take root as new technologies and innovations were making it easier for everyone and anyone to post news. The idea of transparency was a major concern as was the power of the blogosphere being a key source to informing the general public.

Several years later the industry is still struggling with these same issues. While the news industry has become more open (and perhaps even embraced) the idea of citizen journalists, we’re still a long ways away from finding a happy solution. There are still issues of misconception, biased and transparency at hand, and it seems like everyday more and more people are jumping in on the conversation.

One of my questions this week was should professional news outlets be responsible for policing citizen journalists and content? I guess the answer falls in the gray area…yes and no. News outlets don’t have the bandwidth to manage all citizen content (they are clearly out numbered by the masses) and if news outlets were the guiding hands some may see this as censorship (which clearly brings about entirely new issues). On the other hand, knowing that professionals trained in the field were reading, analyzing and publishing citizen-produced news instead of having some guy name Joe who lives in Kentucky clicking the “post” button, would bring some comfort when it comes to accuracy and general reporting skills.

Right now I would say CNN is the numero uno outlet for citizen journalism. The outlet’s iReporter section is well executed and the stories give a national news producer some local (and at times amusing) content. What’s effective about CNN’s citizen journalism strategy is that pieces are selected based on content and quality. CNN also publishes citizen pieces that are informative and accurate. Furthermore, the website makes sure that users know that these stories are produced by citizens and not CNN – thus addressing some transparency issues.

What’s proved challenging about this topic is that before the news industry can find a way to successful integrate traditional and new media mediums, the game changes – new technology, new ways of distribution and new ways of defining news. However, in the last couple of years it’s been refreshing to see the industry’s opinion of citizen journalists has changed (mostly) for the good. It lets people like me, who may dabble with content-production, still have a part in informing public opinion.

Tags: citizen journalism, CNN