internet

Late last night Assignment Zero's political editor Amy Atkins assigned me to cover ForumNext, a web 2.0 event that occurred this morning. To put this into more context, I informed her about the shindig late last night just after I learned about it myself. Sure, I was excited to cover the event, but it was in Salt Lake City while I was at work in DC. Fortunately, the web 2.0 company, Politic2.0, that hosted this digital town hall meeting -- with a dash of digg-style voting that also was mainly propelled by people who actually were physically there -- with Representative Chris Cannon of Utah's third congressional district streamed live video on the Internet. Further, my job also involves on-line political activity, and my boss easily gave me permission to monitor the shindig.

It was exciting as a civilian to "cover" an event. However, the fact that video stopped part way through for a few minutes was a bit of a challenge, but I kept on trying to reconnect. I succeeded.

During the event I shot off a couple of e-mails to Congressman Cannon and another participant, but I don't expect to hear back from them for a while. However, I found Politic2.0 co-founder Phil Burns's number so that I could call and interview him. With this interview to accompany several great quotes I scribbled down during ForumNext, I wrote a draft. Hopefully, it is at least somewhat useful to Amy and Assignment Zero.

What defines a journalist? Or should I ask: what separates him or her from a regular "citizen"? In Holland (The Netherlands) where I live and work, "journalism" is not a protected profession. Anyone can call him- or herself a journalist. Simply because we have freedom of speech as part of our constitution. However; calling yourself journalist doesn't get you to go to any press conferences and such. You will have to join the Dutch Journalist Association (NVJ) to be accredited.

In order to join the NVJ and get the benefits (i.e. a press card), journalism needs to make up for a considerable part of your income and be your main profession. In essence it is a form of self-regulation. In other words: you can call yourself a journalist, but in practice you are not backed up by any organization and you will not have their privileges.

I always found that a bit strange. Even when I was in journalism school, I wondered why this was the case. Why do people in general trust information from regular media more then, let’s say, their uncle or neighbor. Somewhere down the line journalists got more ‘standing’ than an average citizen.

The only reason I can come up with for this, is the fact that journalists that work for regular media (radio, television etc.), have earned credibility over the years and supposedly have “high ethical standards”. The Society of Professional Journalists even comes up with a Code of Ethics for journalists, stating:

• Seek Truth and Report It
• Minimize Harm
• Act Independently
• Be Accountable

But I see no reason why a regular citizen could not adhere to these rules and be just as reliable as a regular journalist. And this is exactly why I joined “Assignment Zero”: I want to see if "citizens journalism" works just as well as ‘regular’ journalism (if such a thing exists).

It is appropriate for this day and age that ‘netizens’ like myself stand up and contribute to the news. Just like Wikipedia is written collaboratively by volunteers, Assignment Zero will be a collaboration between regular journalist and the general public. And that, my friend, will be a first.

Welcome to the revolution!

Ps: I will not use this place to Blog because it lacks the basic features of real Blog software. Therefor you can follow my exploits at: www.vandegoor.com (Bloggers@large).