by Roger Crain

Created on: May 06, 2009

Writing as a Citizen Journalist requires one to master the basic tenets of traditional journalism. Thus, this article will offer you some suggestions as to best way to write as a Citizen Journalist.

The Citizen Journalist like the traditional journalist must be a masterful interviewer. This requires nothing less than being able to control the interview by asking relevant questions to keep the interviewee providing you with those essential details for a complete story.

Additionally, the Citizen Journalist must be accurate in his assessment of the fact by checking and double-checking to make sure his collective data is in order. One should never publish anything without checking or re-checking the facts for those gleans of truth.

Also, a Citizen Journalist must be thorough in uncovering those facts during his research. This step can be executed by how the Citizen Journalist interact with those he comes in contact with in gathering the facts to the story.

After having exhausted his research, the Citizen Journalist must incorporate the 5 W's in putting his story into proper journalistic format. These 5 W's are who, what, where, when and why (or how). A word of caution here: Must Journalists prefer to use the how because the why frequently give the practitioner of journalism problems.

Another suggestion is that as a Citizen Journalist you are an active participant in the democratic process. This step affords you the transparency you need in order to engender accountability to the public at large. Also, it affords you the opportunity to become a purveyor of information at the highest level of trust.

Practicing your profession as a Citizen Journalist puts you in that category of those privileged few; and thus, you become ennobled to your chosen profession. Furthermore, it will give you the clout and recognition that all of your hard work deserves. Putting these suggestions to work for you will not only help you attain your goals and objectives, but also open up a whole new world of possibilities as a Citizen Journalist.

Finally, having mastered those basic tenets of your chosen profession you are in a superbed position to showcased your inventory of skills as a practicing professional. Only when you have proven yourself as a Citizen Journalist will those skills find a medium for you to showcase your work. Thus acquiring the aforementioned skills and being an active participant in the democratic process will afford you the ability to write as a Citizen Journalist.

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