by Tim O'Connor

Created on: March 07, 2009

Citizen Journalism is interactive and participatory. It has been called democracy at work. While the tenets of Citizen Journalism are embedded in traditional journalism, there is a set of bedrock principles that stand apart as a non-negotiable requirement of the craft.

The bedrock principles are: accuracy, thoroughness, fairness, transparency, and independence. Together, these foundational elements form the ethical basis of good Citizen Journalism.

According to the report, We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information, Citizen Journalists are non-professional writers who are, "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing, and disseminating news and information."

A proponent of Citizen Journalism and professor at New York University, Jay Rosen, defines contributors to Citizen Journalism as "the people formerly know as the audience."

In a project for Knight Citizen News Network, The Center for Citizen Media, has proposed a guiding set of principals that accompany good traditional journalism. If you are committed to participating in Citizen Journalism these principles need to become part of your plan.

Accuracy

Good journalism separates fact from fiction. If you're writing on the Web, let your readers contribute to the conversation - say what you know, and say what you don't know. If you get something wrong correct it right away. Check and recheck your facts.

Here's how to ensure accuracy:

* Gather information in reliable ways
* Don't rely on secondary sources, rumor, or hearsay
* Use primary sources and corroborate what you find
* Fully grasp what people are saying and keep quotes in full context
* Spell names and locations correctly
* Link to specifically useful URLs
* Take responsibility for your mistakes

Thoroughness

Thoroughness is getting it right - completely right. It's the difference between speculation and being dead on correct with the whole story. Start by assessing the situation. Create an inventory of people and places involved in the event. Answer the basic five: Who, What, When, Where, Why. Gather facts and check their reliability. Conduct personal interviews.

Three basics of thoroughness are:

* Learn as much as you can about the topic
* Invite readers to contribute to the research
* Update breaking news as you learn more

Fairness

Fairness emerges from our state of mind. Slanting facts cheats your reader. Good Citizen Journalism allows others to respond. When presenting opposing points of view, good citizen journalists

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