Lia's response to USF student's article

As technology evolves the definition of a reporter becomes blurry. No longer is news spread by "qualified" reporters, now citizens of a community can report on an event or issue. This can be seen in OhmyNews International. If a person who blogs about the event/issue can remain objective and have actual facts, even have one or two interviews, then I think that is still reporting, even if it is blogged about. In the case of Hunter, no one can tell the story better than the person who witnessed it. As the news of the accident was unfolding, sfgate and even Yahoo! local news reported on the tragic event with few facts and one to two interviews. In this case, as is in many cases, reporters and citizen journalists are ultimately trying to tell the story and inform the public. Maybe one thing that may trouble some "qualified" reporters now with the rise of different types of news media is the question of how secure their occupation will be in the years to come.

another thought in regards to what Lia said about being a reporter: would it be ethical to contact the family of the deceased, if they still don't know what happened, just for the sake of being one of the first to get a quote? when does being a journalist become a race for acclaim?

also, it would be interesting to follow up to see just how many "reporters" actually followed up with this story until it goes "cold"...

thoughts on Hunter's blog about the accident

I just read Hunter's blog on the car accident and I agree and disagree with him. I think people should be informed about what's going on in their society, but where does a photo journalist/reporter draw the line between informing citizens and overstepping personal boundaries. I think his pictures were great, they really captured and showed what happened yesterday, but I wonder, would he have taken and posted a picture of Dean Gmelch's reaction when he discovered what happened? Would that have been ethical? How does society get affected by that kind of picture? When does someone's personal grief become something that can be shared with others? Kudos to Hunter for following his journalistic instincts and going down there to take pictures and report. I agree that it's not an easy job to report or take pictures on something that others might not want you to. I think that's the tough thing that comes with the job, ultimately it's up to the person, not just as a journalist but as a human being to discern what should and should not be reported on.