New Horizons
You can take a girl out of traditional journalism but can you take traditional journalism out of the girl?
Call me old fashioned, but I still believe that through hard work and extensive reporting a journalist educates her readers on events or issues that the general public does not have access to. But I also realize that the first CNN camera that recorded unfiltered events as they happened (a White Bronco driving down the 405 Freeway or scud attacks during the first Gulf War) changed the way journalists delivered the news and the way the public wanted it delivered. Most important, it also started the evolution of WHO would deliver the news.
In his book, We the Media, Dan Gillmor makes the case for grassroots journalism or citizen journalism. The media and technology savvy public want to be part of the conversation. And in the age of IM , texting and cell phone video, we want our news, information and, of course celebrity gossip NOW. As a traditionalist I worry about this new direction and the new definition of “news,” perhaps almost as much as traditional historians worried about the first oral histories they encountered.
I also realize that grassroots journalism brings more stories–perhaps the stories that we all really care about — to a wider audience. And, as more traditional journalistic tools (printed newspapers and magazines) struggle to stay afloat, at least there are newer methods of engaging citizens in the conversation.
Grassroots journalism certainly gives new meaning to the old Walter Cronkite news series, “You Are There.”
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