Citizen Journalism

In light of the presentation that my group and I did on this topic, I found this video on Youtube that talks a little bit more about what Citizen Journalism is and ways that people get involved in it.

As I was researching this topic for my presentation I have mixed emotions about whether Citizen Journalism is good or bad. I think that it offers people a chance to get their stories out to the public and also an opportunity to investigate and report on issues that may not be covered in full by the mainstream media. I can also see some disadvantages to citizen journalism as well. It seems that it would be hard to trust someone who has not journalistic training or skills and is just writing  a blog about their opinions or maybe not telling the whole truth in their stories or news. Citizen Journalism also does not have the check and balances of  the fact checking system like large newspapers and media outlets.

It is pretty awesome that the advancements in technology has allowed us to be able to capture and event or major news story on our cell phones and submit it to CNN or MSNBC and see our footage on televisions all over the United States. It is allowing regular ordinary people a chance to be involved and contribute to the news, but what does that say about people who have gone to college and graduate school in order to obtain the skills to enter a journalism and media profession? Are there skill and talents no longer relevant? Could they possibly be replaced at some point with independent blogers?

I think that independent journalism should be embraced, but  there needs to be some ethical guidelines and ground rules established in order to keep news credible.  There needs to be some separation between professional journalism, mainstream media, and independent outlets.