Citizen Journalists Vs. Traditional Journalists: Neither Trumps All…

Rather than preparing for a standoff between traditional journalists and the 21st century bloggers, the quickly changing scape of the media requires some adaptation on both sides. As the old adage goes, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” and I think there are a few things traditional journalists could learn from the structure that citizen journalists follow.

Chunking: Not a great word, but an easy-to-read layout

While there are fundamental principles in journalism that should never be compromised (fairness, accuracy, transparency, infringement of privacy), these things don’t have to be set aside or compromised in order to take part in blogging and online communication. It could be very valuable for traditional journalists to instead focus on the structure of their stories; “chunking” has proved to be a good way to break down stories for readers, something that bloggers started doing. While this has mainly been adapted because of the nature of the way people read online, making stories accessible and reader-friendly without compromising the inclusion of information may be very helpful for both readers and journalists.

Shying away from constant conclusions can prolong conversations

Journalists can also learn that there doesn’t necessarily have to be a conclusion to a story—providing the facts about a situation or event may just be enough for the reader. From there, the reader can decide if the information is helpful and can take the article as a conversation rather than a completed essay-style piece. This trend, taken up by bloggers, may be incredibly helpful for journalists because it doesn’t compromise their sharing of information, but leaves room for the reader to explore the subject further in the future. Leaving readers with questions rather than answers would be a valuable way to create an interaction and conversation with readers without compromising the professional voice of a reporter.

Embrace that creativity without compromising quality

Among many lessons that the traditional media could draw from rapid technological and social change facilitated by the Web, I believe that the most effective one would be to embrace innovation and, creativity. While I have stressed throughout my blogs and writing in this course that traditional journalism is still valuable and that I don’t believe it’s dying, I believe there are some fundamental ideological changes that should be made in the newsroom.  Chunking leaving the reader wanting more and going outside the box about a subject are valuable things that bloggers can teach journalists.

April 3, 2009. Uncategorized.