So, I’ll start at the beginning, and work my way up from shamefully late to just kind of late. 
Dan Gillmor says “if we can raise a barn together, we can do journalism together. We already are.” I think Gillmor is absolutely right about journalism becming more of a cooperative process fueled by open lines of communication between the community and professional media. However, as someone who is trying to become a professional journalist, I find it naive of Gillmor to think that just because people have the platform to distribute their “community journalism” they have now become journalists.
The wide dissemination of infomation through applications like blogs, vlogs, and podcasts has forever changed traditional media. All one has to do is watch the evening “traditional” news, and you hear mentions of blogs and online content. This is great! What isn’t so great is when people confuse a blog for a reputable news source.
Just because someone writes about something, does not make it a piece of journalism. Reporters and writers study for years to acquire the tools of their trade. Ethical judgement, fact checking, and writing style are just some of the ways journalists are trained to tell the news. What we need to be wary of, as Web 2.0 users and creators, is confusing online editorializing, personal accounts, and ranting with journalism. Regardless of how many people are blogging or podcasting, there will always be a difference.
Tags: Dan Gilmoor, Jessica Drnek, Jour 96e, We The Media
