Briggs – Journalism Next: Chapter 3

The next chapter in Journalism Next should be seen as a big deal for any aspiring or current professional journalist.

Crowdsourcing, or the power of community to improve a service or imformation base,” is an invaluable tool when it comes to journalism. A popular example of crowdsourcing is our beloved friend Wikipedia, which allows users from all over the world to add, remove, crop and edit various bits of information on a regular basis. The end result? Open-source information: Better and more reliable information (for the most part).

With open-source information, journalists have the ability to bring realism into the story, and provide a realistic point of view for the audience. Not only does it enhance the story, but it allows the journalist to progress in his writing abilities in the future with unobstructed access to information.

While there are few minor downsides to open-source information, they can make themselves present in any opportunity. One of the biggest concerns is reliability; too many times journalists may be searching for a quote or a factoid, only to find it come without a source or disproved claim. Surely, there are work-a-rounds, but it goes to show that nothing is this world is perfect.