Comments on: Citizen journalism and investigative reporting: from journalism schools to retirement communities http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/05/11/citizen-journalism-and-investigative-reporting-from-journalism-schools-to-retirement-communities/ A conversation. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:45:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Hyperlocal News Roundup : HyperlocalBlogger http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/05/11/citizen-journalism-and-investigative-reporting-from-journalism-schools-to-retirement-communities/#comment-9900 Hyperlocal News Roundup : HyperlocalBlogger Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:33:55 +0000 http://onlinejournalismblog.com/?p=2674#comment-9900 [...] investigative reporting? It’s a legitimate question. The Online Journalism Blog recently investigated some of the current efforts that hyperlocal blogs and web sites are making to do deeper [...] [...] investigative reporting? It’s a legitimate question. The Online Journalism Blog recently investigated some of the current efforts that hyperlocal blogs and web sites are making to do deeper [...]

]]> By: Citizen Journalism: My thoughts on Indian scenario « Babbles of a deranged mind http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/05/11/citizen-journalism-and-investigative-reporting-from-journalism-schools-to-retirement-communities/#comment-9899 Citizen Journalism: My thoughts on Indian scenario « Babbles of a deranged mind Fri, 29 May 2009 20:14:37 +0000 http://onlinejournalismblog.com/?p=2674#comment-9899 [...] like text, images and videos. All these have given the online “citizen journalism” initiatives an edge, enabling them to make their presence felt at par with the bigger news services. Hence [...] [...] like text, images and videos. All these have given the online “citizen journalism” initiatives an edge, enabling them to make their presence felt at par with the bigger news services. Hence [...]

]]> By: karthikaswamy http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/05/11/citizen-journalism-and-investigative-reporting-from-journalism-schools-to-retirement-communities/#comment-9898 karthikaswamy Thu, 14 May 2009 02:45:53 +0000 http://onlinejournalismblog.com/?p=2674#comment-9898 John, I totally agree. In fact, I think the key to grassroots journalism is not to outsource hardcore investigative journalism to the crowd - civilians cannot be expected to do what trained reporters have studied and done for years - but to use the crowd in ways that they can contribute best: either as eyes and ears on the street, or for data mining at their computers. And after that the job of organization and consolidation to put together a story is still that of the journalist. It's true that most journalists don't want to work in teams or with crowds, but in some cases citizen help has proved to be very beneficial - in measured doses, with extensive oversight and coordination. Also, with the tools and technologies available it's a great idea to tap into niche audiences for more specialized content - either through Twitter or blogging. Citizens are probably not going to do investigative reporting better than reporters who do it for a living, but citizens can certainly help in the reporting of complex subjects that journalists usually have little training in, like in the areas of science or medicine. A scientist or health care professional can help tell that story better than a journalist. In either case, however careful coordination is essential. John, I totally agree. In fact, I think the key to grassroots journalism is not to outsource hardcore investigative journalism to the crowd – civilians cannot be expected to do what trained reporters have studied and done for years – but to use the crowd in ways that they can contribute best: either as eyes and ears on the street, or for data mining at their computers. And after that the job of organization and consolidation to put together a story is still that of the journalist.
It’s true that most journalists don’t want to work in teams or with crowds, but in some cases citizen help has proved to be very beneficial – in measured doses, with extensive oversight and coordination.

Also, with the tools and technologies available it’s a great idea to tap into niche audiences for more specialized content – either through Twitter or blogging. Citizens are probably not going to do investigative reporting better than reporters who do it for a living, but citizens can certainly help in the reporting of complex subjects that journalists usually have little training in, like in the areas of science or medicine. A scientist or health care professional can help tell that story better than a journalist. In either case, however careful coordination is essential.

]]> By: John Mecklin http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/05/11/citizen-journalism-and-investigative-reporting-from-journalism-schools-to-retirement-communities/#comment-9897 John Mecklin Wed, 13 May 2009 21:34:12 +0000 http://onlinejournalismblog.com/?p=2674#comment-9897 Anyone who thinks so-called citizen journalists can supply very much in the way of actual investigative reporting is deluding him- or herself. The digital interface allows more people to be sources of tips in regard to stories. With certain types of stories involving large amounts of basic fact-gathering, some version of distributed reporting can be of use. But true investigative reporters are highly skilled, highly trained treasures. They have a combination of intuition (call it the nose for the hidden story); the talent for managing balky human sources; proficiency in the use of myriad documentary information sources; the ability to analyze dozens, or hundreds, or thousands of information inputs, some of them contradictory, together, to prove or disprove each piece of a complex thesis; and, in the best such reporters, the gift of being able to explain the results of their investigations in compelling stories full of fine writing and literary detail. They are rare, driven birds, and in my long experience of them, they rarely want to work in large teams, or crowds, or whatever the digital buzz-word of the day might be. They just want to do good, by revealing bad. Anyone who thinks so-called citizen journalists can supply very much in the way of actual investigative reporting is deluding him- or herself. The digital interface allows more people to be sources of tips in regard to stories. With certain types of stories involving large amounts of basic fact-gathering, some version of distributed reporting can be of use. But true investigative reporters are highly skilled, highly trained treasures. They have a combination of intuition (call it the nose for the hidden story); the talent for managing balky human sources; proficiency in the use of myriad documentary information sources; the ability to analyze dozens, or hundreds, or thousands of information inputs, some of them contradictory, together, to prove or disprove each piece of a complex thesis; and, in the best such reporters, the gift of being able to explain the results of their investigations in compelling stories full of fine writing and literary detail. They are rare, driven birds, and in my long experience of them, they rarely want to work in large teams, or crowds, or whatever the digital buzz-word of the day might be. They just want to do good, by revealing bad.

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