I always chuckle when I read articles like this one by David Hazinski decrying the "citizen journalist." The pearl-clutching is priceless.
The premise of citizen journalism is that regular people can now collect information and pictures with video cameras and cellphones, and distribute words and images over the Internet. Advocates argue that the acts of collecting and distributing makes these people "journalists." This is like saying someone who carries a scalpel is a "citizen surgeon" or someone who can read a law book is a "citizen lawyer." Tools are merely that. Education, skill and standards are really what make people into trusted professionals. Information without journalistic standards is called gossip.
But unlike those other professions, journalism — at least in the United States — has never adopted uniform self-regulating standards. There are commonly accepted ethical principals — two source confirmation of controversial information or the balanced reporting of both sides of a story, for example, but adhering to the principals is voluntary. There is no licensing, testing, mandatory education or boards of review. Most other professions do a poor job of self-regulation, but at least they have mechanisms to regulate themselves. Journalists do not.
The arrogance in this statement is palpable. Unlike journalists, who, at most, need a 4-year degree to practice their craft (and many older journalists don't even have that), surgeons and attorneys must have advanced and specialized educations in order to apply for admission to their prospective regulated professions. One can't get a degree in French and go hang out one's shingle as a family law attorney. You can't major in political science and get hired at the local hospital as a surgeon. You can, however, have a 4-year degree in practically anything and get hired as a journalist.
I don't say that rashly, and I'm not trying to put down fellow journalists, many of whom are truly talented and well-trained beyond the B.A. level. But I knew plenty of reporters and editors when I worked in the field who had degrees in lots of things besides journalism. And many fine writers didn't have degrees at all, except the sort one gets from the school of hard knocks.
In fact, my high school journalism teacher told us that, in order to be a good journalist, you shouldn't specialize in journalism, but should show extreme curiosity about lots of other subjects. Her philosophy was that journalism classes could teach you how to write and how to edit, but only by becoming interested in many different subjects would a person display the inquisitiveness necessary to make a good reporter.
Hazinski displays the paranoia and arrogance of many longtime journalists who are both afraid of innovation and disdainful of practitioners. Threatened by even faster mediums than radio and television, journalists wring their hands at the idea that...ordinary people might make mistakes in reporting!
False Internet rumors about Sen. Barack Obama attending a radical Muslim school became so widespread that CNN and other news agencies did stories debunking the rumors. There are literally hundreds of Internet hoaxes and false reports passed off as true stories, tracked by sites such as snopes.com.
Having just anyone produce widely distributed stories without control can have the reverse effect from what advocates intend. It's just a matter of time before something like a faked Rodney King beating video appears on the air somewhere.
I'd be very surprised if Hazinski has never had to write a correction in his journalistic career. Reporters and editors make mistakes all the time. That's what the "corrections" column is for. Actually, it's the place where reporters and editors try to blame someone else for the mistakes they make in print, but that's a subject for another post.
And, can Hazinski honestly ask, with a straight face, about fake news? How many fake news stories have we been presented with over the years? From Janet Cooke to Jayson Blair to Dan Rathers "fake but accurate" story, journalists are making stuff up often enough that they shouldn't be wasting time fretting about other people making stuff up.
Citizen journalists may never replace the career kind, but it isn't because average, ordinary people can't witness and accurately describe or depict the things that happen around them. It's mainly because journalism requires a dedication to the craft day in and day out, whether a story is exciting or boring. Every journalist has had at least one top-tier breaking story in his or her career. But for every story like that, the same journalist has sat through endless boring school board meetings and new library dedications. They've tried to make face-of-Mary-in-dog-food stories interesting and written about controversies regarding new parking meters.
In short, citizen journalists cover certain niches, whether those are local happenings or specific topics. Professional journalists (that could be an oxymoron in some cases) have the time and commitment to cover other stories. Guys like Hazinski shouldn't be so jealous that some people get to cover stories while wearing their pajamas.
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