Dan Gillmor: Why traditional journalists shouldn't be too angry about citizen journalists

Dan Gillmor is convinced that citizen journalism will change the world, if it hasn't started to already. Essentially, it's transforming traditional journalism into something less like a lecture, and more like a conversation.

He says this is a good thing, because it will finally allow all of those who have only been listening to the lecture to actually take part in it for a while.

One main point Gillmor is trying to make is that it doesn't really matter if traditional journalists or news organizations don't want ordinary people to do this, and subsequently try to ignore them. "They're going to do it anyway," he says.

There are some very interesting ramifications of this. For one, newsmakers are now forced to deal with "the variety of ways ... in which people are talking among themselves" -- i.e. blogs, podcasts, online chat rooms, etc. Before, they only had to be concerned with "a finite number of media observers."

Gillmor says journalists also have a lot to learn/gain from this emerging trend. "The first rule in having a conversation is to listen," he says. "Readers can help [professional journalists] understand our subject better. They can give us facts we did not know. They can add nuance. They can ask follow up questions. And, of course, they can tell us when we are wrong."

Gillmor is trying to emphasize the fact that there really shouldn't be any antagonism to this new way of covering the news. Citizen journalists are not a threat, he says.

Journalists are worried because their "every public move is now under observation." He says this is actually useful because it forces journalists to endure the same scrutiny they force upon their subjects.

The next important point he tries to make relates to his own citizen journalism venture, where he will be the "host" rather than the "editor" -- and that's a very important distinction.

He says the potential conversation between amateur and professional journalists will also benefit the "amateurs" who will learn from all of the things professional journalists have learned over the years.

The last thing Gillmor does is show that hilarious "Read my lips" song that mimics Goerge Bush and Tony Blair ... you know, the one that circulated all around the world on attachments during the war making fun of the very close relationship between the two leaders. It appears, from the audience's reaction, that they may not have encountered it before. They are shocked, then amused. And then Gillmor ends with the most shocking thing he's said so far -- that this type of thing may be the future of online news.

And I think in many ways he might be right.

Tarek Atia