Last night's panel at the Social Media Club of LA got into a spirited discussion about the pros and cons of citizen journalism.
Alexia Tsotsis, tech/business lifestyle reporter for the LAWeekly was the moderator. (@alexiatsotsis)
Panelists were:
David Sarno, a Los Angeles Times Internet business reporter. (@dsarno)
Christina Gagnier, a strategist, Information Broker, Partner @ Gagnier Margossian and CEO @ REALPOLITECH (@gagnier)
Andy Sternberg,the Interactive Director for Live Earth as well as the News Editor at LAist.com (@andysternberg)
Chris Tolles,the CEO of Topix, a community news site. (@tolles)
David Sarno kicked off the discussion by saying that just as you need to go to school to be a doctor or a lawyer, so too do you need training to be a good journalist. You'd never use a 'citizen' doctor when you're ill, so why would you want to get your news from a citizen journalist? To be a good journalist you have to be responsible about your reporting. Verify the facts before you publish.
Andy Sternberg countered that stories from people on the spot have value and Christine Gagnier agreed that non profits should use new media to tell their stories. These are real stories other people want to hear and they are usually not told in mainstream media.
The consensus of opinion was that to be a good journalist, mainstream or citizen, you have to be accurate in order to engender trust. That's what creates influence.
We all have the opportunity to be citizen journalists. But having a blog and a camera doesn't make you one. Posting consistently excellent content that's accurate and interesting to your readers can make you a good journalist.
The best line of the night:
"All the king's horses and all the king's men can't put Craig's List back in the box again." David Sarno on what killed the newspaper revenue model.
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