Citizen journalism. What is it? How does it affect professional journalists? How does it affect society as a whole? These are issues I've been exploring in many of my classes this semester.
From reading the article, "News Quality Differences in Online Newspaper and Citizen Journalism Sites" by Serena Carpenter, I have been able to form my own opinion on the concept of citizen journalism. Carpenter defines citizen journalism as "an individual who intends to publish information meant to benefit a community" (Carpenter 69). In today's society, more and more people are taking journalism into their own hands, believing that they can report on issues the same ways in which professional journalists do.
I openly question this belief. There is a reason they are called 'professional' journalists. They have studied what it means to be a journalist, how to report fairly and accurately, and have learned the tools of the trade. Professional journalists have ethics codes in place and general rules and guidelines that they must follow in order to present the news issues in the most accurate way to society's citizens. How can a citizen walk off the street and report on some of the very vast issues that we face in our society today? An everyday citizen does not have the same training as a professional journalist. Personal opinions and beliefs would greatly hinder the overall information being reported by citizens. As journalists, we are trained to be as unbiased as possible and to report truthfully and accurately.
The idea of citizen journalists is a concerning one. Well it is great for people to be able to report on issues to their friends and families, citizen journalism is not the way to go. We still need professional journalists in our society. Too many uninformed people reporting on issues will just cause chaos and disorder. Issues will be reported on improperly and it will have a negative impact on our society as a whole.
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