By definition, citizen journalism is the collection, dissemination and analysis of news by members of the public. However, bloggers, web videographers, Redditors and Tumblr users alike have been getting a bad rap lately.
Citizen journalism takes root in our country’s beginnings with writers such advocating a marketplace of ideas, all the way up to the investigative journalists of the present, such as the famed Wikileaks founder and editor in chief, Julian Assange.
Citizen journalists spread and share information, just as “professional journalists” do. Citizen journalists sometimes even place themselves in harm’s way to get their story.
So why are government officials, authority figures and others in the mainstream media attacking the credibility of citizen journalists? David Simon, Tom Grubisich and other professional journalists have attacked bloggers as “unreliable” or “untrustworthy.” They have proposed the notion that citizens should only trust popular news media and let them do their job. But for centuries we have been untrusting of our government and of major companies, so why is it that we draw the line with huge news corporations? Does Rupert Murdoch have a clean slate?
The truth is that the news has been in the hands of bloggers since the genesis of our country, and we have only now begun to label and categorize them as less than journalists. John Locke and Benjamin Franklin left open space on the back of their publications for people to share their ideas and spread them around various networks. This notion is not something new, and if it weren’t for this spread of ideas in colonial times, the U.S. would possibly be a very different country today.
The idea that bloggers are any less credible than popular news sources is silly. Whether it is intentional or not, the major networks and publications sometimes distribute, publish and broadcast false information. Don’t believe me? Just run the Google search: “Fox News doctored photos” or “MSNBC misquotes.” It is just a fact of life — people make mistakes. Bloggers and news networks are no different in that respect.
Of course, that isn’t to say that professional journalists don’t have an advantage. With press credentials, proper training and specialized skill sets, it is usually the case that professional journalists can get closer to a story.
Citizen journalists should never be underestimated, and should always be questioning and distrusting. Because the minute we close our eyes will be the moment in which we can be manipulated — by anyone.
Reach the columnist at dominic.valente@asu.edu
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