In this day and age, citizen journalism has grown in importance. The internet has empowered people. It has given us a voice to express our own views, report what we see, do our own research, uncover truths, and share them with the rest of the world. Citizen journalism has its benefits. It allows the rest of the world access to first-hand accounts of events, especially when it comes to events such as natural disasters and wars. Citizen journalism also allows for different views on the same issue to be presented. The question we need to ask ourselves now is, "Has the rise of citizen journalism decreased our need for official broadcast stations and real journalists?"
On the surface, it seems plausible that citizen journalism could indeed replace the job of journalists. However, we still need journalists to verify the news that is published. When it comes to citizen journalism, many different versions of a single story may be published, and we may not know which source is reliable, and which source is not. Also, citizen journalists looking to get famous quickly could fabricate stories and doctor photos in order to sensationalize their stories. There are no rules and guidelines for citizen journalists to follow. However, journalists need to be responsible and accountable for every piece of information that they publish for public consumption. They need to verify their information, and check it with reliable sources before it hits the news stands.
Another point to note is that citizen journalists write and report about things that interest them. If we were to solely rely on citizen journalism, we would get an inconsistent flow of news. We need journalists to provide us with a constant and consistent stream of news on a daily basis.
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