Move over Toronto Star, Torontonians want to have their say

Ever since 9/11, there has been a new source for the journalism community: citizen blogs. Everyday people have begun to comment or blog about events such as what happened during 9/11 or how Burma's oppressive regime attempted to crush its people's peaceful protests has brought to light information that prior journalists didn't have open access too. Although, along with this new surge of information comes a great deal of issues.

As citizen journalism has increased in the past few years, many outlets of the media have acknowledged this influx. News associations such as BlufftonToday have linked themselves to bloggers who are likely to comment on their stories of the day, as well as including comment boxes under their own stories for anyone to comment. One major point where citizen journalists lose out to professionals is the acknowledgement and the importance of being accurate, truthful and as objective as possible. As we mentioned in lecture, citizen journalists don't have the weight on their shoulders as professionals do. They don't face the possible consequences of libel against them or the issues in taking a bias stance on a topic. This is something people who do this job as a living encounter and face on a regular basis.

As I do understand that bloggers can bring some hidden information that journalists would otherwise have no access to, I still think there needs to be some sort of training involved to make the piece an article versus an editorial. As journalists are aware that they themselves can't help but have bias, they also have access to editors who will extract these sentiments out of an article to ensure reliable and professional news. Whenever I read about the news, I always start out reading the basic facts at the Toronto Star or BBC website. After gathering that then I'll look into blogs and what other people have to say about it. I find blogs a tool to gather extra details that might have been missed, but the way professional media associations tell the story gives me a credible groundwork.

That's not to say that I disagree with what's happening in the media world where comment boxes and more and more blogs are being typed everyday. It's actually much better that organizations are allowing people to have more of a say in something that is supposed to represent what is happening in their everyday lives. Citizen blogging is always free to mention stories that don't make it into the mainstream press for whatever reason. It's a good place for people to get personalized information about a topic from someone who could have experienced it or maybe have a better understanding of the topic, even better than the reporter themselves. All in all, when it does come down to it, as much as blogging has increased in the past few years my main source of current events first go to journalists and then bloggers, not the other way round.