For all the criticism and praise it receives, Fox News' slogan -- "We report. You decide." -- gets at an underlying principle of journalism: The media gather news and readers consume it.
This routine has been played out for decades with newspapers, magazines and TV stations flinging reporters far and wide when news breaks. Readers, viewers and listeners await the evening newscast and tomorrow's paper.
But with the Internet, a funny thing is happening: Many people are adopting an "I-report-and-I'll-decide" mantra. Citizen journalism, or public journalism, is allowing everyday people to report, collect and react to the news through blogs, news aggregator sites, discussion groups and other forms of new media.
Some of these informal journalism sites report the news. Others assemble reports from multiple sources to provide a bigger picture.
Across Maine, there are dozens of Web sites, each carving out a niche by covering topics such as the upcoming Tom Allen and Susan Collins U.S. Senate race, the recent visit of President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, home prices in Cumberland County and new restaurant openings.
As these sites expand in number, they are redefining who is a journalist and how news is gathered.
"The Internet has changed journalism dramatically because it has made the tools of the trade cheap, easy, and fun for millions of people across the globe," said Jason Clarke, a 27-year-old from Bangor, who runs JasonClarke.org and is co-creator of The Living Well Report, a Web site on nutrition and healthy lifestyles.
On the site, he has discussed whether the Web site Twitter is a passing fad, covered the Bangor Daily News' relaunch of its community news section, interviewed candidates in last fall's state Legislature races and been critical of filmmaker Michael Moore, who Clarke took to task in his first blog, Moorelies, starting in 2003.
An author and Web developer, Clarke got his start back in college when he began experimenting with sites like Geocities, which allows users to create their own Web page. As a developer for RainStorm Consulting, he is constantly keeping up to date on new developments in technology and media.
In his time away from work he prepares posts to the site that will be released during the week. Clarke, who is also a member of the Media Bloggers Association, a nonpartisan advocacy group for bloggers and citizen journalists, said blogs allow for a more comprehensive telling of stories, with embedded video and audio.
It also means changing the rules of storytelling, he said.
"Traditional journalism has eschewed a transparent point of view in favor of objective narration," he said. "But some journalism originating from the Internet takes the opposite tack and infuses the narrative of the story with a distinct point of view, which often lends drama and passion."
People like Lance Dutson, of MaineWebReport.com, have made a name for citizen journalists. Dutson was critical of the state Office of Tourism's marketing campaign and the performance of former director Dann Lewis, gaining headlines in traditional media. And earlier this year, Dutson was one of a small group of bloggers given credentials to cover the trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney.
Other sites, like the Maine Independent Media Center, Maine Property Blog, and Maine Sports Report and Photography, offer expertise and insight on the need for locally owned media and the rise in home prices in southern Maine, as well as scores and photos for youth leagues. Though some of these sites are grassroots in nature, others are set up as an extension of a business.
VillageSoup, the online network of community news and events that eventually began publishing as a newspaper in Camden, recently received a two-year, $885,000 grant to make its system available to communities nationwide.
Traditional media companies have taken notice of the growth in citizen journalism and are trying to find ways to adapt.
Last year MaineToday. com, the online partner of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, launched MyMaineToday, which lets users submit photos, stories and event listings.
Joe Michaud, president of MaineToday. com, said the number of users on the site has been increasing. People have used the site to write about problems at a recent screening of the newest Harry Potter film, and reconnect to old classmates, he said.
"I don't think it will replace journalism. It's a supplement, a way for the community to get information out that may not rise to the level of attention of a journalist," he said. "It's a way for us to stay close to the community and find sources and story ideas."
Howard Finberg, who studies online media and new media at the Poynter Institute, said people are natural storytellers, and the Internet has just provided a forum to tell and hear more stories.
Instead of leveling the playing field between traditional journalists and citizen journalists, Finberg said, the playing field has gotten much bigger.
"What we're really talking about is the difference between people who make journalism as part of their living, people who work for media companies that do journalism as part of their business versus people who do not," Finberg said. "But that does not necessarily make them amateurs, it just doesn't make them professionals."
Like any other profession, there are skills, ethics and values that are important to journalism, and citizen journalists need to understand that, Finberg said. At the same time, readers must be able determine where their information is coming from.
"In one sense, it has upped the stakes for the individual to recognize the difference between well-done journalism and something more akin to propaganda," he said.
Finberg said it better serves the interest of readers if there are more sources of information out there and citizen journalism allows people to participate in that. Finberg said news organizations must find ways to adapt and embrace citizen journalists as sources and newsgatherers.
"We have to get past the feeling we're the only ones, that it has to be our material to produce and no one else's," he said.
Ron Huber said more people are beginning to recognize the different ways to get information out.
Huber, a life-long environmental activist, runs the Penobscot Bay Blog, where he examines environmental and marine issues along the Gulf of Maine.
Huber has written on the cleanup of Seal Island and the ongoing debate over the future use of Sears Island.
Huber said mainstream news outlets often can overlook what they deem as small stories, which leaves an opening for citizen journalists.
At the same time, if a writer stays tightly focused on a subject like the environment, it allows them to build a following, he said.
"I've found that there are issues that the media I feel are simply not paying attention to, and that's something (blogs), (low- power) radio and Web sites have enabled," he said.
Staff Writer Justin Ellis can be contacted at 791-6380 or at jellis@pressherald.com
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