I always find it refreshing when journalists remind themselves of the way they should perform their duties.
Dan Gillmor, a leader in the citizen journalism movement, did just that when he spoke to journalism students and others during a speech at CU Boulder on Monday, Nov. 2.
Gillmor, who is the founding director of the new Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship at Arizona State University, discussed the following key journalistic principles:
Thoroughness. I couldn't agree more. Talk to one more person. Ask one more question. Make sure you get the full story.
Accuracy. This goes along with thoroughness. Be sure to spell individual's names correctly. Double-check facts that can be checked.
Fairness. Make sure you get all sides of the story. If one person is criticizing the actions of another individual, get the other individual's side. He or she may have a good reason for doing what he or she did.
Independence. While Gillmor said this can be hard to achieve for some professional journalists, they must strive to present their reports in an independent, unbiased manner. This can be easier for citizen journalists who don't have to worry about advertisers pulling their dollars because of an article's content.
Transparency. Gillmor called this is a new principle for journalists. In the past, journalists acted as if it was a deep, dark secret as to how they got their stories. Gillmor said they worked in a black opaque box. He said journalists today need to be more transparent. He suggested they could even include in their articles how they got the story.
All of these thoughts are good for professionals. Citizen journalists also should take note. In fact, many of these principles are taught in webinars presented by the National Association of Citizen Journalists as it works to train, motivate and support citizen journalists. For more information, visit www.NACJ.us.