By now you may have heard the term “citizen journalist.” The idea is that as newspapers and news magazine fold, professional journalists will go the way of the dinosaur. In their place will rise up a league of citizen journalists who will report, write and publish the new news. Because the barrier to entry is so low, anyone with a computer and some rudimentary computer skills can own and operate the “press.” Thanks to the internet they can also reach a global audience.<\/p>\n
We already have citizens doing the jobs of professionals. Typically they do the job for less, often for free, and the final product often reflects that. <\/strong>We have citizen barbers. You can recognize their kids by their trendy, non-symmetrical haircuts. We have citizen graphic artists…who feature their work on the sides of railroad cars and vacant buildings. And we have citizen pharmacists…sometimes we refer to them as drug dealers. Okay, I’m being just a bit facetious and completely unfair, but you get my point. If everyone could do it, and do a good job, there would be no need for professionals. So my question is: can anyone be a news reporter…and if so, why have we had professional journalists all these years?<\/p>\n Personal note to Dr. Ross…just playing devil’s advocate for a moment. \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By now you may have heard the term “citizen journalist.” The idea is that as newspapers and news magazine fold, professional journalists will go the way of the dinosaur. In their place will rise up a league of citizen journalists who will report, write and publish the new news. Because the barrier to entry is … <\/p>\n