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| Yes | 41% | 169 votes | Total: 414 votes | |
| No | 59% | 245 votes |
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Add to FavoritesJust as local politicians are usually more honest than their federal counterparts, local citizen journalists are often more reliable than professional journalists. This does not reflect a personal fault or any intentional bias on the part of any individual. It is merely the cumulative result of the circumstances in which the professional journalist finds his- or herself. There is an eventual detachment experienced between professional journalists and 'the real world' that results in a lower quality of reporting.
As reporters start their careers, they are fighting hard for scoop and eager to uncover the real story. They are not jaded by boring assignments, repeated themes, stubborn interviewees, and unyielding subjects. Although they are often assigned the more mundane assignments, they find a particular and indescribable thrill in the city council meeting, the police beat, or even the obituaries. They attack their subject matter with zeal and do the very best they can to bring that story to life.
Years down the road, when they are juggling assignments with daily deadlines, they do not have the time or attention to focus on each individual story. Little clues that would uncover a larger picture go unnoticed in the hurry. Bias from previous stories begins to trickle into the text. Cynicism becomes more common.
Professional journalists are taught to sensationalize. They find themselves stripped of their original writing style and standards and molded to whatever their company needs. In every way, professional journalists are as much salesman as they are reporters. Editors push content that appeals to a particular audience. Doom, gloom, sex, and scandal are the primary themes of professional journalism.
Furthermore, especially in corporate America, there is an intense bias in national and syndicated media. Every company is owned by another company who owns someone else.
Imagine this scenario:
The national newspaper is contacted from a whistle-blower from a particular company. This individual is aware of some serious violations of federal and state laws occurring at the company, including the hiring of illegal aliens and unlicensed professionals.
Unfortunately, the organization that owns the newspaper also owns the company in question. What kind of spin do you imagine that the newspaper will place on that story? Will it be a fair, equitable view of the issues? Will it condemn the company for its illegal and unethical practices? Unlikely. It is far more likely that the newspaper will smooth it over, attempting to make the situation appear less than it really is.
Of course, if the company were owned by a competitor, the story would reek of outrage and scandal. It all depends on the bias of the journalist, editor, and the owner.
However, a citizen journalist is subject to no such censorship, and will merely call the facts as they are seen. Citizen journalists offer a refreshing objectivity and truthfulness that was once expected - and required - of professional media.
Learn more about this author, Nicole Thelin.
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No
A professional is defined by having met stringent educational, ethical, and well regulated goals. A professional has had membership in some form of organization that provides credentials to document an agreement that the standards have been met and that sanctions, such as withdrawing the credential, can be applied in cases of failure to meet standards.
A journalist is one who announces, warns, documents current events as historical record, expresses opinion about current and historical events, and who should do so in a way that their work is comprehensive, objective, unbiased, well written, ethical and true.
A professional journalist has dedicated life to gaining a significant body of knowledge, technical training, and experience in journalism, it's history, it's problems and it's tools and techniques. A professional journalist is an expert who can teach others, judge the quality of other's work and produce a high quality of work. A professional journalist is an expert who can develop new theory, ethical constructs, principles, and standards in an ever changing world of challenges.
Professional journalists are not always trustworthy. They can have personal (internal) or editorial (external) bias that is reflected in what they leave out, add in, or twist in a story. On the spot interviews are notorious for bias in selecting who gets interviewed. Advertisers may "suggest" bias in their favor. The audience might be expecting certain bias that agrees with their opinions.
A citizen journalist is anyone who self defines as a journalist, and who may not have met the above standards, possess any credentials, or have membership in an association that can withdraw the credential for failure to perform to a standard. As such, the work of a citizen journalist must be heavily scrutinized and earn trust with each pronouncement and not as a body of work that builds trust over time. But citizen journalists are not to be distrusted simply because of their comparative lack of education and credential.
These days, far more individuals have more education. More people can write, read, and think critically about complex subject matter. More fields require the writing of experts in the field who can explain things to the layperson in ways that no one with just a journalism or English degree can do. As a result, doctors, lawyers, scientists, soldiers and other professionals are developing and using their communication skills in order to speak directly to the public as they announce, notify, warn, document current and historical events, or express opinion.
These individuals are as trustworthy as anyone else, but may be prone to making mistakes that a trained journalist would not make. As a result, they are more trustworthy if they work with a journalist who can identify these mistakes and make their work far more reliable.
These days, there are individuals who happen to have experienced, witnessed, photographed, or recorded events, and who wish to publish their thoughts and images, themselves. They are as much journalists as anyone else, and often lack the internal and external bias of credentialed journalists.
Citizen journalist tell of things, whether through indisputable photography or video record, or through their own words, in ways that are vastly more important than the summaries of professional journalists who show up after the fact and interview people. Citizen journalists do not ignore one scene in order to get another scene in a prize winning photo. They capture what has gotten their attention, and do so in pure and unadulterated form.
But, as with citizen journalists who are professionals in complicated fields, the eyewitnesses and participants in events have emotions, are in shock, are distracted by being compelled to act, or have flawed memories and interpretations that come from not knowing what to look for. As such, they are not quite as efficient as the grizzled veteran journalist or photojournalist, but they are far more trustworthy in in the potential for naked honesty of what they can capture and report.
Finally, in matters of opinion, some citizen journalists are qualified and do well, others are poorly educated and undisciplined social, ideological, and emotional train wrecks who just manage to appeal to a particular audience. Some are quite harmful, untruthful, and can have devastating effects on the public body of knowledge.
In a contest, it is not easy in all cases to determine which whole group has a better gift, is better at doing what journalists do, or who can be trusted more. But both groups have a permanent and established place in society as the official and unofficial "town criers" of our times.
Learn more about this author, Elizabeth M. Young.
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