The concept is noble and egalitarian -- Citizen Journalists. Anyone and everyone reporting news and feeding into some vast system that collects and disseminates it for all to see.


We already have that in the web and, in particular, the blogosphere. Those of us who blog are Citizen Journalists.
A few months ago a website called NowPublic announced it intends to become the world's largest news agency. The Vancouver-based company, which is already listed by Time Magazine as one of the top 50 websites of 2007, got more than $10 million in financing to help fuel its growth.
NowPublic's plan is to let anyone with a digital camera or camera/cellphone upload images and "news snippets" for dissemination on the internet. Some of the money from the financing will be to "reward" people who upload stories or images NowPublic is talking about building partnerships with newspapers, magazines, TV networks and wire services, which will have access to NowPublic material.
NowPublic says it has some 120,000 "contributing reporters" in more than 140 countries. Co-founder Len Brody is quoted as saying, back in July, "I promise you, in 18 months we will be, by reach, the largest news agency in the world."
Impressive. Or is it, perhaps, more scary than impressive?
Citizen journalism is a great idea and it's one that is sure to spread as media, starved for information, will rely on non-professionals who feed pix and information. Some newspapers are already relying on a network of citizen journalists for local news where staff reporters just can't cover everything. But most of these citizen journalists have established some element of credibility with staff reporters and editors so the reliability of information can be trusted.
But imagine a network of 120,000 people all over the world, sending in pix, video and news they've stumbled upon. Does NowPublic, or anyone for that matter, have the staff to monitor and vette the information? Are there enough editors to examine news, look for the holes and contradiction, search carefully for hidden agendas before putting it onto the feed that will then go round the world and become news?
I doubt it very much.
Without proper editing, we can become buried by erroneous or intentionally wrong information. Once it seeps into the mainstream news channels, misinformation can take on a life of its own. Untold damage can be done, hurting individuals, reputations, companies, governments.
Even with the checks of proper editing in real news organizations, we've seen examples of fraud. We've seen doctored photos of bombings in the middle east, perpetrated on Reuters. The Boston Globe, Washington Post and even The New York Times have had star reporters invent or exaggerate information and quotes for the sake of adding emphasis or excitement to stories.
If it can happen to such top professional reporting organizations, just imagine what can hapen when "anyone and everyone" can file a story or submit a photo. It scares me to think what some people might do for money, a cause or just their 15 minutes of fame.
Citizen journalism is a grand idea, but let's take it slowly and carefully. There's too much at stake to be hasty and sloppy.

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Citizen Journalists: A Good Thing... Sort Of

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

After 30+ years in this business, I still look forward to going to work. Rarely are two days the same, and the challenges are varied and stimulating.

My firm, Reich Communications, Inc., handles an interesting range of clients that take me from b2b to consumer publicity, from the world of high-priced art to advocacy for issues including traffic safety and securing mental health resources for survivors of mass violence globally.

Over the years at mid-size and large New York agencies, I’ve served a client roster that reads like a “who’s who” of business – General Electric, Emery, Ryder, Travelers Insurance, Phillips Petroleum, Georgia-Pacific and Jaguar Cars. I’ve also worked with groups like the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association (for their giant New York Auto Show), Syndicated Network Television Association, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Highlights include leading the publicity team that launched L’eggs hosiery, which later became a Harvard B-School case history. I also managed P.R. and community relations for the Metro New York McDonald's Co-op, with more than 250 stores. We won a Marketing Excellence Award for a McDonald's public service program I developed on fire safety. It also won an Emmy for on-air host Dr. Frank Field, health & science editor at media partner WCBS-TV in New York, and it was directly credited by the NYFD for saving several lives. During those years, I also had more than my share of Big Macs.

I have a degree in Industrial Management and an MBA in Public Relations. I live in southern Westchester, 15 miles north of midtown Manhattan, in the same town where I grew up. “Money-earnin’ Mount Vernon” is how the town is now known as a center of hip-hop culture, but it also claims as native sons Denzel Washington, Dick Clark, author e.b. White, Art Carney, Art Buchwald and Sean “P-Diddy” Combs.

I write about marketing, media and public relations at my blog, "my 2 cents" If I ever retire from this crazy business, I'd love to be an all-night jazz deejay.

We're baaackk! Join us in-person this October at B2B Forum: Boston!