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A journalist describes why and how 'a news organization works with its audience to have that "conversation" that is news.'
We're all citizens, but not all of us are journalists. And the term "citizen journalism" is one I've never cared for. It's inaccurate.
Journalism requires more than one person and it needs a support structure. It's about editing, questioning and challenging assumptions. Much of what is put on blogs right now is "opinion." There are good, thoughtful opinions out there-but they're often presented as fact. There is some journalism happening in the blogosphere, but not much. It's mostly meta-journalism-reporting on reporting.
I don't like the "citizen" part, either. The term is self-congratulatory and, frankly, a little smug. The notion that the bloggers and citizens will rise up and make the mainstream media obsolete is naive. At a recent seminar, the subject was much debated, since an increasing number of news organization Web sites now invite user participation. That part is terrific. What seems less praiseworthy is the apparent lack of understanding of the basic rules of journalism.
A number of those who run these Web sites are thrilled about receiving user content-they're just not interested in vetting any of it. What surfaced in this seminarwas the notion that "if we don't edit it, they can't sue," an assumption based in part on a pair of rulings from the 1990's. In Kenneth M. Zeran v. AOL, the court held that AOL, as an Internet Service Provider (ISP) could not be held responsible for a defamatory posting on one of its bulletin boards. Zeran was an early test case of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that says ISP can't possibly monitor every bit of communication that passes through their space and therefore cannot be held liable. In Blumenthal v. Matt Drudge and America Online, the court refused to hold AOL responsible for content Drudge posted on his site that quoted a source as saying newly named White House Advisor Sidney Blumenthal had abused his wife.
In 1998, Tech Law Journal wrote about the Blumenthal suit: "section 230 of the massive Telecom Act of 1996...