See:

http://bayosphere.com/node/1907#comment-44723

“… Citizen Journalism, i.e. amateur journalism, is by definition not a professional pursuit since most Citizen Journalists do not normally get paid for their efforts. So, there is a bit of a quandary here. It is not unlike many so-called ‘Web 2.0′ business models where the basic idea is to get your audience (i.e. online community) to provide content in exchange for some intangible benefit … but usually not negotiable currency. …”

Rupert Murdoch, is right when he says that the game has changed. But the argument that new technology will necessarily result in better communications is neither neither new nor sustainable. Hitler, for example, used radio to polularise anti semetic lunacies. Murrow meanwhile deployed radio to analyse, inform and ultimately gather support for the war against fascism.

The answer lies in ethics rather than technology. We need recognised, branded information, which is produced by people who belive in the truth. This applies to both professionals as well as amateurs. It was the difference between Murrow and Hitler. It still is.

The Challenges of Citizen Journalism

Content
Although this may seem obvious, the proper selection, timing and staging of content is a delicate and complicated task. It is not random. Participatory journalism is still presumably journalism, and requires discipline of vision like any other worthwhile endeavor.

Passion
The fuel which drives any great work is passion for something, someone, some place, etc. Without this vital ingredient, inane and banal ramblings masquerade for the genuine article. It is precisely this form of passionless journalism which drives audiences away from mainstream media, in search of “something real.”

Capability
We all have different skills, and not everyone is equally gifted in the art of expression. The challenge is to enable those who desire a voice but can’t quite sing yet. This requires a drive to achieve and a submission to the discipline required to get there on the part of the would-be Citizen Journalist. In other words, one must become a “humble student” in order to truly learn anything of value, especially how to be a great journalist.

Credibility
Everyone has an opinion, sometimes more than one. However, not everyone has the depth of background and experience to offer valuable opinions which can add substance to a topic of discussion. Many popular journalists are cast, for better or worse, into a “pundit” role over the course of their years in covering specific topics with some depth. This doesn’t mean we should ignore fresh new insights, but if those insights waste the audience’s time by not providing value, then the whole effort is on shaky ground.

Accountability
Screaming “fire” in a crowded theatre is ok if there really IS a fire. However, anonymous “bomb throwers” who engage in so-called ‘yellow journalism’ destroy the overall integrity of a publication, not to mention open it up for libel and slander. Defamation is not a valid form of promotion, and accountability of reporting and reporters holds this problem in check, although it doesn’t completely eliminate the more subtler forms.

Compensation
In most societies, “Time is Money” and Citizen Journalists, even fledgling ones, need to be properly compensated for their efforts if those efforts are to continue. Hobbies are just that: hobbies. In order to break through to a higher level of quality, there needs to be a fair system of compensation or the term “Citizen Journalist” will become synonymous with “Unemployed Journalist.”

Leadership
The role of the editor should be emphasized here. Without editorial direction, guidance and oversight, it is hard to deliver a quality publication. Even high school yearbooks have editors, and online publications are no different. There are various editorial styles and orientations, but they all share common journalistic ethics which define and shape the publication. Without this editorial leadership, whether it is in the form of an editor-in-chief or an editorial staff, the publication in question may never see its second issue. Perhaps this is just editorial Darwinism at work.

Conclusions
Great journalism is hard … sloppy journalism isn’t really journalism at all. And Citizen Journalism is quite challenging!

… And another thing …
Mark Twain (a.k.a Samuel Langhorne Clemens) on Journalism — From an address to the Connecticut Evening Dinner Club, 1881:

“… If you don’t want to work, become a reporter. That awful power, the public opinion of the nation, was created by a horde of self-complacent simpletons who failed at ditch digging and shoemaking and fetched up journalism on their way to the poorhouse. …”

Another example of a recently noted emerging consensus: Citizen media is about improving journalism. Jon Snow at a Guardian conference: Citizen journalism won’t supplant professional journalism, but it may actually professionalise it. (…) There’s a…