As with anything there are pro's and con's to citizen
media. One large criticism is that there is no filtering process
for citizen journalism. Whereas trained journalist must abide by
the ethical standars of accuracy and objectivity, citizens and the
media they produce are not held to the same standards. While many may
argue that citizen media lowers the accuracy and standards to which we
are used to in American journalism, it can also be argued that the
ability of citizens to report the news provides greater transparency in
the media and forces higher standards from those new institutions we
have come to rely upon for accurate infomration.
One example of this was seen in June 2007, when a bombin in
Nairobi, Kenya killed one person and injured more than 30.
Immediatly the story was
picked up and placed on the blogosphere by those who had witnessed the
event. Long before official statements and factual information was
released by police, assumptions and speculations were being tossed
around the web. This is a perfect example of the debate
that continues to swirl around citizen journalism. While the
importance of citizen's media was made clear during this incedent, as
Nairobi citizens were able to acess easily and quickly information and
footage of the bombing, it also highlighted the negative consequences
which can occure when faulty infomation is spread around like
juicy rumors disquised as real news.
Another milestonemoment in citizen media to also bring the debate
forward was the Virginia Tech shootings. While the reports and
footage from those who witnessed the shootings provided more detailed
and in-depth coverage, it also brough up concerns of average citizens,
perhaps, going to far to catch the action on their video phone and
placing themselves and others in danger.