Contrary Viewpoints on Bloggers (Citizen Journalists)

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.

Meanwhile, check out another different point of view in "Citizen Journalism is Dead" from Vincent Maher, who teaches multimedia journalism at the New Media Lab at Rhodes University’s School of Journalism & Media Studies.

In particular, Maher’s ethics chart is fascinating and to be applauded, because it really does pinpoint the drawbacks of citizen journalism.

He continues:

"Each of these differences point to one thing: citizen journalism is potentially devoid of any form of ethical accountability other than the legislative environment in which the individual operates. So, on the level of routine practice, there is very little control, especially in terms of accuracy."

I truly find it hard to argue Maher’s conclusions, but I still believe, like Gallagher, that blogs really do perform a valuable function.

Read Maher’s full story and see his insightful comments about the role of economics and epistemology in blogging.

So whould blogs be trusted? Just be very careful.

• Read the "About Page" of the founder.
• Examine his or her motives, if any.
• Find out his or her background.
• Determine whether the blog seems to be accurate and informative.
• Gauge the quality of the blogger’s sources.
• Then make an informed decision.
• Weigh the evidence.
• But bear in mind that, as Maher points out so aptly, bloggers have to be their own gatekeepers.