Why I Am Taking This Class

News & Citizen Journalists: What's in the future for traditional journalism?

By Karianne Salisbury

With the changes new technology creates in the world of traditional journalism, many questions about the role of journalists come to mind. Who qualifies as a journalist? What will be a journalists’ role in the future?

According to Wikipedia.org, a journalist is defined as a person involved in “the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues and people.” But, with an increasing amount of ordinary citizens stepping into the media scene and providing the public with news information, the formal definition may be expanding to include such individuals.

In fact, CNN has recently reported on the growing trend of blogger journalists and posed the question of if these individuals should be treated like members of the mainstream press. Many organizations are saying yes.

One example, as included in the CNN report, focuses on The Media Bloggers Association, an organization supporting blogging as a distinct form of media. This association has been working to create a position for bloggers in the media field and most recently obtained access into a major court trial as a step towards accreditation for bloggers.

Example after example shows the doors into the journalism world being opened. You Witness News encourages citizens to upload video feed or personal photographs of news events. South Korea’s OhMyNews.com provides a mix a professionally reported and citizen reported stories. Newsassignment.net, started by a New York University journalism professor, combines the efforts of professional editors with those of citizen journalists.

These kinds of examples are becoming increasingly popular in how news is reported. Many wonder if it poses a threat to professional journalists. Cassandra Szklarski, author of the article “‘Citizen journalism’ challenges mainstream media," explores some of the disadvantages of traditional journalism.

“The problem with mainstream media is there’s not a lot of choice,” Szklarski said. “You get what the editor gives you. And on the Internet, there’s a proliferation of choice, either by design or mass numbers, by the technology of the medium that allows you to find whatever it is you’re looking for to express whatever it is that you’re trying to express.”

The phenomenon termed “citizen journalism” entails a wide spectrum of individuals, each providing their take on the world and creating interest and involvement. Although traditional journalists are the professionals, they are, oftentimes, no longer perceived as the expert.

“The bottom line is that thanks to the Internet, we have the ability now to self-publish,” said Carla [no last name provided] in the article “Newsroom of the future: from convergence to citizen media. “You don’t need editors, or fancy front-end computer systems, or training, or paid subscribers. Mainstream journalists are no longer the experts. The idea is that citizens collectively know more on any given topic than an individual journalist.”

Does this mean the jobs of traditional journalists are in jeopardy? For those who would say no, the answer is found in the principles of journalism, principles that can not be guaranteed in a world of blogging.


“We journalists generally prize integrity,” said Amy Gahran at Poynter in the article “Citizen journalism vs. professional journalism.” “Certain core values and practices of traditional journalism – such as objectivity, accuracy, corroboration, avoiding conflicts of interest, transparency, editorial oversight, etc. – exist in order to enhance our integrity and this earns the audience’s trust.”

Although there is continued debate on the topic, many professionals are not worried and want to combine the two methods of journalism to create even better news coverage.

“‘Citizen journalism’ provides professional reporters the chance to collect many more data points than they can on their own,” said Robert Niles in his commentary “Let’s quit arguing the merits of “mainstream” versus “citizen” journalism and instead work together on “better” journalism.”

“‘Mainstream media’ provides readers an established, popular distribution channel for the information we have and can collect,” Niles said. “Not to mention a century of wisdom on sourcing, avoiding libel and narrative storytelling technique. And our readers don’t care. They just want the most complete, accurate and engaging coverage possible.”

Other Sources

1. Carla (2006). Newsroom Of The Future: From Convergence to Citizen Media. Retrieved January 24, 2007, from LexisNexis Academic database.
2. McCullough, T. (2006). You Witness, Where Any Person Can be a Journalist. Retrieved January 23, 2007, from LexisNexis Academic database.
3. Szklarski, C. (2006). ‘Citizen Journalism’ Challenges Mainstream Media. Retrieved January 23, 2007, from LexisNexis Academic database.
4. Szklarski, C. (2006). Citizen Journalism: All the “News” That Won’t Fit to Print. Retrieved January 24, 2007, from LexisNexis Academic database.