LJWorld.com weblogs Lauren Keith
Posted
by Lauren Keith
October 25, 2009 at 9 p.m.
Why They Hate Us, and How They’ve Become Us
citizenjournalism.jpg
The revolution will not be tweeted. At least that’s what we journalists hope.
While the mainstream media were sleeping, complacent with the one-way stream of information that flowed from behind the wizard’s curtain, the Internet awoke. Citizen journalism, through the power of the Internet, easy-to-understand wikis and social networks, has changed the “people formerly known as the audience” into important, information-wielding contributors to what’s happening in our world and how people learn about it.
What was once us-telling-you has now become an all-you-can-tweet buffet of information.
We know you hate us. Some years, journalism tops the list of the least respected careers.
However, the concepts of journalism and the so-called mainstream media have become detached and no longer represent the same thing. Who controls what is news has changed. The New York Times’ idea of what's important is very different than Digg's.
But maybe “professional” journalists and citizen journalists aren’t so different after all. We both have our biases, liberal or conservative, and we lose sight of objectivity. We have our own agendas. We could all stand to be fact-checked. And you’re just as interested in Lindsay Lohan as we are.
So perhaps this whole war of the mainstream media machine against Joe Wikipedia is completely unfounded. Whatta ya say, truce?
—Lauren Keith
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Comments
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mrsteffen (anonymous) says…
I'm ready for a truce! We are all citizens of some community, multiple communities, and we must find a way to collaborate.
avossen (Adam Vossen) says…
"We both have our biases, liberal or conservative, and we lose sight of objectivity."
But the difference between trained journalists and citizen journalists is that the former has been educated to be aware of these pitfalls. No, that doesn't mean they are always 100% avoided, but certainly more so than any Joe off the street who writes a blog.
I think journalistic ethics are also a boundary between these two factions. Perhaps something to expand on in your next blog?
chipk (Chip Kaye) says…
Lauren,
An important and sobering reminder - thank you.
Too much of the "future of journalism" debate is driven by a vague generalization that pro journalism - and pro journalists by association - is the enemy. Ironically, this hyper-radicalized view causes some to miss just how truly radical the actual shift in journalism is.
If we were going just from a one-way to a two-way medium between the press and the public, that alone would be a titanic, "radical" shift. But what we are seeing is far beyond even that: the creation of new and successful hybrid models - pro/am collaboration, citizen-only reporting, etc. And none of this devalues the professional practice of journalism - just the opposite: journalism as a skill will become increasingly important as it evolves and is practiced by professionals, citizens and everyone in between.
I look forward to my kids being part of a participatory, democratic, and truly free press that merges the public with the best aspects of journalism as a profession to deliver an improved public good.
lauren_keith (Lauren Keith) says…
Chip,
Thanks for your comment. Your insight about the changing definition of journalism is something that we are all trying to cope with, and also something that we are trying to avoid. I'm not sure how much longer we can avoid this though without letting the industry suffer more than it already is.
Lauren
chipk (Chip Kaye) says…
Lauren,
That is a bold and honest statement - thank you.
Unfortunately, from where we are now I can't see a path to either controlling or avoiding the (personal) suffering, and that is sad indeed. I work every day with a committed and decent staff of people - journalists, customer support, ad sales, print operators - all working hard to earn their keep at a small daily newspaper.
Suffering for newspapers as corporations, though, is a different matter. My take is the personal suffering we see now might have at least been better managed with more and bolder vision at the top around the inevitable shift to digital media. Even now, the thinking remains tentative and the investment inadequate. I say that here respectfully though, because LJWorld has been one of the few beacons in the industry, having employed Adrian Holovaty, built Django and Ellington, and developed Lawerence.com as a model for the industry to consider.
But out of this suffering, I believe we are going to see new and much improved models for journalism, and that will be a good thing for journalists and all of us who rely on their work.
Chip Kaye
Founder, Jseed.org
Cappy (anonymous) says…
I just hope the the "professional" journalists will get back to doing their jobs. Through the Bush years, reporters just steno'ed what came down from authorities. There was no investigative journalism digging up the truth about the wars, illegal surveillance, or other issues. You guys have the resources that "citizen" journalists don't. Use them and get the big stories. Don't fall for false equivalence. If someone is talking BS, call BS on them. That will earn you respect.