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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,

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