Throwing the title "journalist" around...

This first posting discusses something I find truly difficult to stomach. Last night I saw an ad run by a local television station asking individuals to become "citizen journalists." Many of you probably know that professional journalists have a hard time coming to grips with the fact that what bloggers write has been referred to as journalism. For the most part, bloggers do not rely upon the journalistic tenents to write their posts - they simply write what they know/think/feel (just as I am doing now).

That said, I am extremely appalled at a professional news outlet (which I hope is staffed by professional journalists) asking citizens to become journalists. It demeans our profession and what we do. It says that anyone can write a little bit, post it online, and it's journalism.

Professional journalists (by this I mean those who have a journalism education, training, or background) don't refer to bloggers as journalists. It's not that we don't appreciate or understand what bloggers do (many of us are bloggers ourselves), it's just that we feel we have worked for and earned our title. We have gone through a process of researching, writing, interviewing, fact checking, and editing before submitting a story for production.

Journalism is a profession - a career choice - not something that is done for sport. It has a long and distinguished history. Many prominent writers, scholars, businesspeople, and ambassadors have been journalists. Some journalists feel so strongly about their profession that they have gone to jail to protect story sources. These individuals have indeed earned the right to be called a journalist.

The title of journalist is something to be aspired to, not just given. Simply writing about the day's news or events does not make one a journalist. In my opinion, writing a blog makes you a writer. Giving news ideas to the media makes you a source. Neither is a journalist. It would be like someone saying that because they put a bandaid on a wound or gave someone a Tylenol they are a citizen doctor.