I wish I had a title. Something in front of my name that would make me feel incredibly important, even if no one knew exactly what it meant. Something like "Citizen Journalist"?
People who voluntarily contribute to news production -€“ certainly not a new phenomenon. But with the subway bombings in London or Hurricane Katrina, citizen journalism has been declared the new big thing.
Recently, news organizations have reached out to their audiences for reader- or viewer-gathered material. This amateur footage or copy can be more useful than the material from professional reporters because it comes straight from eyewitnesses. It also gives stories that personal touch that sells so well; and, above all, it is cheap.
With Katrina, citizen journalism has reached its temporary peak. Even the stuff that doesn't end up on TV or the Web can still be easily published on private Web sites. With personal blogs, the omnipresence of digital cameras and picture-taking cell phones we can suddenly all be journalists. But hasn't that always been the case?
Journalists are not doctors or lawyers. While a degree in journalism certainly helps prepare students for the complex issues in the professional world, a degree is not a certification required to call someone a journalist. Degree holders do, however, acquire skills in reporting, production or media law that the man on the street usually doesn't possess.
In 10 years, the citizen-journalist label will have disappeared. With the constant progress in communication technology and an increase of rules and regulations in the digital world, citizen journalism will undergo the same evolution as professional journalism. Only the most skilled citizen journalists will succeed. Some of them will probably even enter the official journalist workforce.
One of the most popular examples is Anderson Cooper, who started out reporting with a fake press pass and a home camcorder and is now one of the most intriguing faces on CNN. Another, less famous citizen journalist is Dhar Jamail. Unsatisfied with the U.S. news coverage of the Iraq War, he traveled there and became an independent war correspondent. But when alternative media outlets picked up his stories, the line between professional and citizen journalism blurred. As with most every form of media content, it is now up to us consumers and producers to weed out quality reporters from the dilettante posters. Because, as much as I'd like it, I will never be PrDCJ (Professor Doctor of Citizen Journalism) Suse Whatever-her-weird-last-name-is.
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