If you can’t beat ‘em, train ‘em
The venerable Society of Professional Journalists is offering a series of workshops for non-professional journalists who want to hone their news reporting and writing skills, according to Steve Johnson’s Hypertext.
“There are quite a few bloggers, particularly in larger cities, who do work on a par with any journalist,” SPJ president Clint Brewer told Johnson who attended a recent workshop at DePaul. “We’re trying to sort of hang our shingle out in their world with this first step and let them know we welcome them as well.”
Through The Citizen Journalism Academy, SPJ says it ” seeks to help everyone wanting to practice journalism to do so accurately, ethically and fairly. The Society aims to help participants understand how responsible practices could increase their reach and help them have strong journalistic reputations within their communities and around the world.”
What do you think? Can such an effort improve the quality of work by novice reporters or does it undermine the very idea of citizen journalism?