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About this projectThanks for stopping by "Principles of Citizen Journalism" — a project by the Center for Citizen Media for the Knight Foundation's new Citizen News Network. As the genre we call citizen journalism emerges as a valuable part of our information ecosystem, we need to encourage people to participate in a high-quality, honorable way. Naturally, most folks don't come to this endeavor with the same backgrounds or knowledge that many professionals take for granted. How can we help? With this project, we're focusing not so much on the how-to of doing journalism. Instead, we're taking what we hope is a useful look at something even more important: the principles that accompany sound journalism. What are those principles? We believe they are accuracy, thoroughness, fairness, transparency and independence. Our team has compiled a lot of material in these pages, in text, audio, video, slide shows and more. Feel free to browse at the surface or dive into the details. A work in progress Two key points as you look around: First, this project is a work in progress. It can never be entirely done. We plan to update these pages as time goes by. The principles aren't likely to change, but the material we find to reinforce them almost certainly will. Second, we could use your help. If you see errors or have suggestions on how we can improve the site, please let us know in the comments below each page or by using this form. We hope you'll participate in this ongoing conversation.  |  |  |  login to post comments |
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Photos (from left to right) by Rob Milsom, Tom Magliery, Elaine Yeung, Stefan Jansson, Geren W. Mortensen, Jr., John Cumisky
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In my opinion, these principles of citizen journalism are useful guidelines for the public. To what extent can they be applied to people in the community? However, it is useful to introduce these concepts for citizen journalists, many who might be unfamiliar with them. Perhaps, we should also consider how much of a role content managers and editors should play in enforcing these journalistic ethics and principles. For example, should it be primarily the job of editors of CJ media to ensure accuracy and thoroughness? Or, do we not want to be viewed as playing too dominant of a role?
Being completely error-free can be difficult for the public. There are potentially many pitfalls on the web and elsewhere for citizen journalists, where a plethora of content masquerades as factual information. In many cases, the web is the most accessible source for the public to research or find information for a story. Editors and professional journalists in charge of citizen journalism publications should anticipate these potential mistakes. Personally, I feel that we need to provide more resources on how to be as accurate as possible.
Like the other principles, thoroughness can be developed in citizen journalism as the new medium develops over time. It might not be adhered to as much as we wish. We need to remember that the reason many citizens actually share their stories or contribute their other content is because they actually enjoy it, and think it’s a fun thing to do. Unfortunately, thoroughness doesn’t always accompany these voluntary acts. In many cases, I don’t think it should be the job of a citizen journalist to ensure they are as thorough as possible. The organization of stories, providing links and value-added content is something that can be taken care of by professional journalists in the end. Besides, these elements are frequently provided by newsroom staffers and editors for the professional reporter to augment their work.
Fairness is another thing that we can facilitate by providing opportunities for readers to post or send in their comments for stories. There needs to be a realization that much of citizen journalism is commentary and editorial in nature. Authors of these pieces will not always balance their work significantly. Rather, they will send in a strong opinion, or viewpoint that is intended to make a clear point.
Transparency is another good ethical suggestion, yet there will always be those who take advantage of the open nature of citizen media to spin whatever they can get in. As far as being independent is concerned, I would think it would be a given in many cases. However, in some situations it may seem impossible when a contributor shares something related to their place of work or an organization they belong to.
In conclusion, I think this list of principles shouldn’t be enforced on citizen journalists. They should be offered as a guiding set of principles and a resource for how to go about their work. However, perhaps I’m wrong and the field of CJ will one day evolve into a highly-skilled and competitive field. Then, again, I can’t see that happening with a concept that should be there to give the public a voice in journalism, frankly, without competition and a fear that one’s work doesn’t meet professional standards of quality.