Over at Techdirt it has been noted that “David Hazinski, a journalism professor and former NBC correspondent, claiming that ‘unfettered’ citizen journalism is ‘too risky’ and that it needs to be regulated (via Romenesko) by ‘official’ media companies, handing out ‘certificates’ to citizen journalists”.

It is great to see that free speech is so well understood by an actual journalist, pity about his elitist tendencies. There is much in the modern media that is merely opinion, and that opinion is no better than anyone else’s. And it is certainly not more valid than any citizen journalist. It is only in the area of fact-checked news stories that ‘official’ news media may have an argument. But this raises issues about ‘facts’ and their interpretation within an ideology and their presentation as objective. But that’s another whole can of worms.

One thing I ponder is how did journalists get to be so special? Again the press has lost sight of its own origins in the 18th century pamphlets and newsletters. Ordinary people took up their pens to voice their own opinions and it has grown into the press industry we know today. The Internet is just enabling us to reclaim citizen journalism for the people (OMG that sounds a little bit Marxist, but you know what I mean).

via Aide-mémoire