Thought I'd share this very enlightening piece, "In Defense of Citizen Journalism," from reporter/blogger Sean Gallagher, senior editor of Ziff Davis Internet's vertical enterprise sites
Gallagher presents a thoughtful look — one's that's both measured and opinionated at the same time — about how bloggers (citizen journalists) do have a role to play in present-day journalism.
He maintains:
"Citizen journalists keep us so-called professionals on our toes, and get subjects into play that might otherwise never see the light of day."
What I like about this column is that Gallagher is able to present the point of a professional journalist, who blogs both professionally and personally — a vantage point that I also take. He writes:
"...I'm getting really tired of journalists who spend their column inches, air time or page impressions bashing "citizen journalism" and weblogs. It reminds me of the way my teenager tries to rest away the game controller from his 'tweener brother, yelling, "Give me that, you're not doing it right!
"To say that information from any source on the Internet is to be treated skeptically is like saying that pit bulls might bite. It's been pretty well established that anyone with a computer can, and will, create a Web site, post to Usenet or a discussion board, or otherwise pollute the Web and other streams of information with hearsay and libel..."
Gallagher notes that there are "plusses to having that fire hose of unfiltered content.
"It's not that I don't use those established sources of media; they have their purpose. But there's stuff on the fringes that just doesn't get picked up by them because, well, they just don't have the reporters, the budget, the space or the advertisers to justify them doing so.
"So, let a thousand flowers of thought contend. Citizen journalists keep us so-called professionals on our toes, and get subjects into play that might otherwise never see the light of day. Just remember: Pit bulls sometimes bite."
Thanks, Sean, for your interesting points. One word of caution, though: As Gallagher also observes, it's important to carefully decide which bloggers (citizen journalists) are to be trusted and which ones are to be regarded with skepticism.
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