The question on everyone's minds, however, is whether or not citizen journalism should be taken seriously. Professional journalists spend years honing their craft and put many hours of research into ensuring the credibility of their sources. Journalist Leo Traub of the University of Maryland argues that citizen journalism is not credible enough to be trusted, a sentiment that is echoed throughout the journalism community. Why trust any person with a camera and the ability to edit over a professional journalist with years of experiences under their belt?
The answer to this can be found in the many videos and images of important moments in history that were recorded by civilians. From the murder of George Floyd to the raid on the US Capital, citizens everywhere now have the ability to record important moments in time that a journalist does not always have access to.
So what's the solution to this debate? Well I, along with many other journalists, believe that rather than having one or the other, the best solution would be to work together. In an article by Darryl Holiday, he explains that the best solution to this crisis is to involve more people who are willing to assist in the production of local news. Pushing away the public is not the answer to this problem, especially since the news is supposed to be for the benefit of the public. No, the best solution is to work together, both citizen and professional journalists, to prioritze the production of credible news everywhere. After all, without information from the public, professional journalists would have nothing to write about.
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