Beyond the Anchor Desk: The Rise of Citizen Journalism is Now Public!

Who, what, where and when... The basic questions we ask of all things we are curious about. Citizen Journalism has always been a major part of the sharing of information and news. It is as old as curiosity itself! It's a part of nature to observe & gather information of an event or set of circumstances, internalize that information and share it with others. Stuck in traffic, the weather, an accident, gossip, the price of gas all information shared by each on of us on a daily basis with our friends, colleagues and families without any thought of how the information got from here to there.

We are in someways all casual reporters of what we observe and encounter.

This past Tuesday evening (Oct. 9th) the Paley Center for Media in NYC hosted a discussion titled, 'Beyond the  Anchor Desk: The Rise of Citizen Journalism' as part of its series, 'The Public Programs at The Paley Center'. The discussion focused on the Revolution of news gathering and distribution by citizen journalists armed with cell phones and video cameras. The Paley Center gathered a panel of distinguished traditional journalist that included, former CBS News President and Sr. Advisor of Marketspace LLC Andrew Heyward, Debra Galant founder and Editor in Chief of Baristanet.com, Adam Glenn co-founder of ireporter.com and Citizen Journalist Pioneer and DCTV's co-founder Jon Alpert. Representing the new generation of journalist were Current TV's, star producers and host, Max Lugavere and Jason Silva and representing Citizen Journalist was yours truly, Gus Rodriguez aka Urbano411. Moderating was Now Public's, Chairman of the Board and the Editorial Director of News21, Merrill Brown, who brilliantly kept the discussion focused and informative.

Citizen journalism is the act of everyday people turning unexpected moments & observations into news coverage. The panelist discussed how technology has changed the way information is passed around, giving the average tidbit of information a wider distribution then ever before. Suddenly we no longer have to wait very long to share what's going on. We have cell phones, PDAs, text mail, laptops, our phones can capture pictures and video. The once referred to 'Man on the Street', is now just as well equipped to deliver the news as the famous News van. Now we can observe things and report who, what where & when to a worldwide audience in just minutes. In some cases as the news is actually happening. Providing images, video, audio, text, interviews and opinions at a minimal, if any, cost of production.

Panelist shared video clips of their work, most notably was the work of documentary legend, Jon Alpert, who presented two compelling examples of ordinary people making extraordinary journalism in the heartland of America and the urban streets of Brooklyn, NY. Max and Jason's clip attacked the immigration debate in a very untraditional reporting style that included beachside interviews with South Beach sunbathers. This form of providing compelling information and content is affecting not only how we deliver news but also the quality of the news and information received by us. News is no longer neatly packaged and contained to the sound bites that provide a preferred view of the story. Instead now we find traditional news items are immediately followed and in some occasions proceeded by eyewitness reports and opinions. Examples of this have been seen in our news coverage of the Iraq war, politics, foreign affairs and almost every news item that now exist. Citizen Journalist bring to the publics attention news items and information that otherwise don't make it pass editorial meetings in traditional news rooms. The Jena 6, & the horrible situation in Burma, are perfect recent examples of the way news, that may have been  glossed over, receives much needed attention.

All the panelist agreed that citizen journalism, however, is required to hold itself to the same rules expected of traditional journalism.  Fairness and accuracy  resulting from research, reliable sources, and fact checking are vitally important for all journalist. In closing, Merrill Brown expressed that  this new model of reporting was here to stay and expected that it will play a big role in the future of journalism.

Freedom of press is no longer a concept that only pertains to our morning paper, the six o'clock news and the people that bring it to us. That freedom is now pertinent to all of us that share the news we encounter. The discussion encouraged anyone with a curiosity about a subject, that may witnesses a situation during the course of the day, or that may have a unique knowledge of a subject's who, what, where and when to grab a laptop or maybe their cell phone, and become a correspondent.