Citizen journalists slinging their pen can create a double edged sword. On the one hand, many are directly involved in the stories they report. A good example of this is the trial of Robert Pickton, an alleged serial killer in Canada. There is coverage provided from Orato by former sex workers turned citizen reporters (Pauline VanKoll and Trisha Baptie) who knew the victims that Pickton allegedly killed. The advantage to direct involvement is that the citizen journalist is more knowledgeable about the subject, closer to the subject matter and in theory, more accurate. The disadvantage being whether or not bias exists in their report. In this case, we have to wonder…are the reporters too close to the story to remain objective, or does it mean it could be more valid because they have deeper, more meaningful insight?

Questions of motivation come up. What is it about citizen journalism that is so appealing to many people? For some, it may simply be a hobby, while others may find it a necessary outlet and a chance to be involved in their community and overall history. What about if you are reporting on a story that is close to you? Since citizen journalists are not professionals, they are not technically bound by the same code of ethics, although they would do well to abide by them as their credibility would likely suffer.

I’ll start with bias, assuming I’m a citizen journalist covering a murder trial. Let’s also assume that my friends were the victims and in an honest attempt to remain objective and un-biased, I try to keep my opinion out and report only facts. Further assume, I follow the evidence and become convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the alleged killer is indeed guilty, although I’m not a member of the jury. However, after deliberation the jury finds the defendant not guilty. The question arises - how do I write an objective article now?

Consider that this is not just a problem for citizen journalists. What happens if a professional investigative reporter has a lead that the parent company of her newspaper is engaged in illegal activities? Is, is she willing to expose her source of livelihood and the source of income for all her colleagues for the sake of the public knowing the truth?

On the flip side, perhaps a story may become more interesting because a certain bias is allowed into it. If personal experience is injected into the story it is possible to add more depth to it. What would have been a dull statement could now be full of rich perspective. If the potential bias is disclosed from the beginning and readers are aware of it from the beginning, then the content can speak for itself for exactly what it is – one human being trying to connect to others.

Certainly, some traditionalists scoff at the idea of citizen journalists. In fact, this citizen journalist attempted to interview two crime reporters at the Omaha World Herald about their thoughts to no avail. Cultivating a working relationship between the Pro-Am journalists takes time and effort and should be strongly encouraged because both camps have so much to contribute. Collectively, the value of these contributions would increase exponentially to the public, which may very well provide input and feedback to the journalists in efforts to continuously improve the way we inform and entertain.