A journalist can address the veil of ignorance by walking in their source’s shoes. This allows us to better understand our source’s experiences and therefore become a better reporter. Unlike local parachuting journalists, citizen journalists have the background to address the veil of ignorance in a slightly different manner. Citizen journalists do not need to necessarily walk in their source’s shoes because they walk among the community they report on. Citizen journalists are part of the community that local journalists try to understand. A citizen journalist's understanding of their community can give them an advantage, but just like professional journalists, citizen journalists are not immune to bias. Their advantage as members of their community is the specific factor that can also make them prone to bias and criticism from professional journalists. 

Journalist and Temple University Professor Larry Atkins writes in the Philadelphia Inquirer that along with bias, other concerns include conflicts of interests and credibility. While professional journalists are also prone to all three dilemmas, unlike a citizen journalist their place as a professional journalist permits them to receive training and a degree during which all three dilemmas are supposed to be addressed. Atkins acknowledges that citizen journalism can be a good thing, but also points out that networks leave themselves open to dangers such as scams and doctored media. 

Along with bias, Atkins’s criticism of citizen journalism points out the disadvantages of citizen journalism— ones that come with severe consequences. On the other hand citizen journalists have advantages over professional journalists that can allow them to better connect with sources, and therefore better accurately tell the story. To address this dilemma I looked at research done by the fellows at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, and what Germantown residents residing in a predominantly Black community had to say about their relationship with the local news. 

According to their research, a major topic of discussion among residents concerned the perception of bias in the local news coverage of crime with one resident saying “it seems like they only report on crime in certain neighborhoods, and I’m pretty sure crime goes on all over Philadelphia.” 

Residents also shed light on what they believe are local outlets’ various motives for inaccurate reporting. These various motives ranged from the view that media outlets were simply careless or their reporting was a result of malicious intent. One resident pointed out that a lack of “homegrown journalists” leads to mistakes such as geographic errors. A resident raised concerns regarding Germantown Ave which runs through several communities other than Germantown. They said the news often assumes that incidents on the avenue were taking place in Germantown. Despite the presence of local journalism in the area, residents felt the media did not accurately represent their community, and largely entered their community to cover crime and negative news. 

This is where citizen journalism could step up when local journalism fails, but we still have the question of bias that factors into what it means to be a citizen journalist. Firstly, to understand how bias factors into the role of citizen journalists and the failure of local journalism in Germantown, it is critical to understand the system under which it operates. As the news industry faces a financial crisis, viewership and subscriptions play a major role in revenue. This can result in local outlets following utilitarianism and seeking the greatest happiness for the greatest number at the expense of those outside the mainstream narrative. The news and revenue are not only guided by viewership but also the power structures and money that fund the newsrooms, as censorship and sending signals down the ranks is a known issue in the industry. Citizen journalism can help combat utilitarianism because under Milgram’s fourth stage of moral development, citizen journalists are not motivated to cover their community for the sake of keeping their outlet financially stable or getting a story out of the way. They do it because they feel a sense of duty to cover their community in a manner that accurately represents it, as done in collaboration by the citizen and professional journalists at the Germantown Info Hub. 

Secondly, just as any journalist, BIPOC journalists are not immune to bias when they are covering issues regarding their own communities. That’s where editors, strong sources and transparency play a crucial role, but BIPOC viewers who consume media made by BIPOC, may notice that potential bias is less likely to come into question if a white journalist is covering the issue about our community. When an academic has years of experience in an area, they are used by journalists as expert sources. After speaking with the expert sources, we use that information and verify it against another. The manner in which experiences of BIPOC journalists are not seen as a source of information and a lived reality that can better our reporting, citizen journalists are also similarly questioned for their involvement in their community. 

Questioning a journalist's bias in any case is crucial, but the main question is do we also classify the lived experience and reality of those who are BIPOC and community members as a liability or a place of expertise. If our bias is not checked with the help of editors and transparency it can become an issue for the piece’s accuracy, but that does not mean we should ignore how citizen and BIPOC journalists can help address the veil of ignorance. They are critical in addressing the bias that mainstream media has because they are part of and have lived the reality that newsrooms are attempting to accurately portray in their reporting. This is critical to becoming aware of how we approach the topic of bias in citizen journalism because, as seen in research done at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, citizen journalism can fill the gap in minority communities where local journalism brings their bias and financial motives, and fails the underrepresented communities. 

Lastly, the Judeo-Christian ethic is an example of a dilemma faced by both citizen and professional journalists. The question of bias is raised for citizen journalists because they walk among the neighbors they report on and for. Professional journalists who parachute into local communities should work to understand the faces behind the stories they cover. 

As any journalist, citizen journalists are not immune to bias but considering the power structure, citizen journalists who are using their method of reporting to cover their underrepresented communities are more likely to be called out for their potential bias than local parachuting journalists. By creating a collaboration between professional and citizen journalists we can address bias in mainstream media and citizen journalism. 

Mainstream media and local outlets have the expertise to train citizen journalists with skills to accompany their close connections to sources. They can use their training and editors to help citizen journalists to address their bias; an inclusive group of professional editors can help citizen journalists determine the line between their lived reality and expertise contributing to accuracy in their reporting and where it is leading to bias. Citizen journalists have the expertise as members of their community to check the shortcomings of mainstream media. They can help address the bias that mainstream media holds for minority communities. Outlets need viewership for revenue and as seen in Tow Center for Digital Journalism, communities trust and pay attention to their outlets when their stories are told by trusted voices. 

Germantown Info Hub is an example of this solution. As a free source, The Germantown Info Hub is a collaboration between a community advisory group, local college students, writers, community reporters and media partners where Germantown residents can publish pieces about their community. Its editors consist of journalists with decades worth of expertise in the professional industry. This kind of collaboration helps to bring forth news and stories that would otherwise be off the mainstream media’s radar.  

Atkins ends his piece with: 

“Citizen journalism is a good thing, but it shouldn't be viewed as the future of journalism, a substitute for professional reporting by established media. Citizen journalism should augment media coverage, not replace it.”

Considering the dual benefits of citizen journalism, this kind of reporting has the potential to have a profound impact on the industry's coverage and revenue. As we continue to question potential bias in any journalist's work, we should not reject the benefits of citizen journalism for the sole reason of bias. This is especially the case when mainstream media covers the stories of underrepresented groups through its own lenses. When professional reporting is consistently no longer reporting on its community accurately, it is crucial to allow the public and average citizen to have a say. This especially is the case if as journalists we intend to work toward the highest stage of one’s development, under the universal ethical principle.