RonRoss's blog

“I want to be a reporter, but I don’t know what to write about!” was the comment from a young lady in an audience I spoke to recently. Her dilemma prompted me to start work on my next book tentatively titled, “1001 News Story Ideas for Citizen Journalists.”

There is more than one way to interview someone for a news story.

Some journalists take the role of an unfriendly, disbelieving inquirer who wants to catch the interviewee in some moment of confusion or expose him/her as a hypocrite, ignoramus or buffoon. I refer to this as “gotcha” journalism.

Some journalists take the role of a supportive, affable colleague so they don’t ask any tough questions that might embarrass the interviewee. This often called throwing softballs, but I call it “brownnose” journalism.

Most aspiring citizen journalists I meet have a favorite topic that interests them and they want to write almost exclusively about that subject. For instance, a good friend of mine writes solely about hunting and fishing in Iowa and Nebraska. Another submits articles to his local newspaper about the activities of his Rotary Club. Another citizen journalist I know submits articles about green issues and the climate change debate.

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The idea of citizens writing the news is not a new one. In fact, it is an idea that is as old as the newspaper itself.

There were no professional journalists around 50 BC when Julius Caesar, serving as the First Counsel of Rome, ordered scribes to publish the Acta Diurna, a daily report of governmental activities.

In 1826 Elijah Parish Lovejoy graduated from what is now Colby College Waterville Maine. He graduated with honors at the top of his class. After graduation he moved to St. Louis, Missouri and became the editor of an anti-Jacksonian newspaper and taught in a school.

“What are you going to do when you grow up?” you ask your kids.

Most children don’t have a clue, so they answer with “fireman,” “policeman,” “doctor” or other such highly visible and seemingly exciting occupation.  I don’t think I’ve ever heard a child answer, “Journalist! I want to be a journalist!” The idea to be a journalist usually comes a little later as they experience their world and see the vast variety of career choices they actually have.

One way to get your message out is to post comments on blogs and news articles that discuss the subjects you are most interested in. I do that all the time. My blogging and commenting is very narrow. All I read or write about is citizen journalism. That’s about all I’ve been doing for the last two years.

Lots of folks ask us, "What makes a good citizen journalist?"

The short answer is passion. But a good a good citizen journalist needs more than just passion. Six proficiencies that a good citizen journalist needs to develop are:

Two interesting stories about citizen journalism's growing impact on the media around the world: