This is an OurBlook interview with Dr. Kirsten Johnson, assistant professor, Department of Communications, Elizabethtown College. She is a former local TV producer and one of the creators of we-town.com, a citizen journalism web site based in Elizabethtown, Pa. She has authored several papers on citizen journalism, and is currently writing a book chapter on the subject.
 Some experts argue that citizen journalism could help local newspapers survive. Do you agree or disagree?
KJ: Local newspapers should not rely on citizen journalists to help them survive. Most citizen journalists are not paid anything for their work and lack the motivation to help a for-profit entity continue to make a profit. Citizens cannot and should not be viewed as free labor. Local newspapers need to look at ways to generate revenue, and citizen journalism is not the way to do that. Newspapers should consider a subscription-based business model where people have to pay to view online content. I know, at the present time, the audience doesn't want to pay for online information, but in order to sustain high quality reporting and writing, they must embrace this. If you think back to the early days of cable television, many people initially were resistant to pay for premium programming channels like HBO. Now millions of people pay a lot of money each month to view these channels. The Millenial generation has grown up paying for television and they are used to paying for premium services. People will pay for great reporting.
Is there any advice you would give newspapers on how to best incorporate a citizen journalism model into their site?
KJ: Citizen journalists are good at reporting what they know and things they care about, but many times those are not the same things reporters are trained to care about. Citizens can provide pictures and commentary about events; however, it is difficult for them to objectively report on a story.
Some critics cringe at the thought of citizen journalism, citing lack of quality and wondering if it's just going to be a bunch of irresponsible, inept bloggers. How would you respond to these critics? Are there any steps that newspapers can take to safeguard against inaccurate, dishonest, slanted or otherwise harmful citizen journalism?
KJ: Some citizen journalists will do poor quality and inept work; however, there are professional journalists who will also do these same things. Citizen journalism can be a powerful tool for reporting hyperlocal news (news that is specific to one community) because people care about their community and have a hunger for finding out what is going on. People care about school board and local planning meetings, and these are stories that citizens who attend these meetings can report on and post to a web site. Will it be a completely factual, objective account of what went on at the meeting? Well, maybe yes and maybe no, but at least someone is disseminating the information about it. The problem comes when an investigative or in-depth story needs to be done. This requires a lot of time and resources, neither of which many citizen journalists have. With many local newspapers going out of business, there is a void that can be filled by citizen journalists. We have seen this locally in Elizabethtown, Pa. Our local newspaper, the Elizabethtown Chronicle, recently went out of business, leaving a void in the community. Now citizens are starting to band together to write and post stories on our citizen journalism web site we-town.com, a site established about a year ago by the Communications Department at Elizabethtown College.
In terms of steps newspapers can take to safeguard against inaccurate, dishonest, slanted or otherwise harmful citizen journalism, no, there isn't a way to guard against this. Even mainstream media have been hurt by cases of plagiarism. If newspapers are scared of what citizen journalists might write on their site, then they shouldn't use them.
No one would pay money at a dentist's office to have a root canal done by a citizen dentist. No one would pay money at a hospital to undergo a gall bladder operation by a citizen surgeon. What makes citizen journalism different in its viability?
KJ: Citizen journalism isn't any different in its viability than the two examples above. If citizen journalists do a good job, people will continue to read their work. If citizen journalists do a bad job, people will look for other sources of news (there's certainly no shortage of news outlets). If a doctor does a good job, he will continue to have patients; if he does a bad job, he will not. Journalists, just like doctors, gain reputations for their work, either good or bad. At this point in time, journalists don't need to be "licensed" and they don't need to pass any special exams to be considered journalists. Perhaps this will change in the future so we can distinguish the professionals more easily from the citizens, in the same way that we are now able to distinguish professional doctors and lawyers from those who are not professionals.
Do you believe that citizen journalism helps democratize information? If so, how? What do you think the information roadmap will look like in 20 years?
KJ: Yes, citizen journalism helps democratize information, and this, in fact, is one of its greatest strengths. More voices in news coverage lead to a greater diversity of perspectives and better ideas. James Surowiecki in his book "The Wisdom of Crowds" writes that a solution generated by many who are not experts can, under certain conditions, be more valuable than the solution provided by one expert. There is great value in allowing multiple voices and perspectives to enter a conversation and provide information.
As for the future of news, in 20 years we will have highly personalized news and we will receive it on demand. Citizen journalists will provide hyperlocal news via online citizen journalism web sites in towns where local news coverage no longer exists. TV news will continue to exist, but in an on-demand format. As video is shot and edited in the newsroom, it will be uploaded for consumers to watch. Waiting until 6 p.m. to watch a local newscast will become a thing of the past. Newspapers will still exist, but in a limited form in print. They will grow their online presence and go to a subscription model where people pay for the high quality information and in-depth information they provide. Radio will still exist in its current form; however, it will continue to become less local and more automated to cut costs.
Is there anything else you'd like to say about citizen journalism?
KJ: Citizen journalism is useful for covering hyperlocal news, however, in-depth reporting and investigative stories still require professional journalists who have the training, time and resources to cover these types of stories well. Citizen journalism and mainstream media can peacefully co-exist and should not be seen as rivals.
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