as someone who’s worked a little in citizen journalism, and a little in regular journalism, and has hit a number of conferences where there are more journalists than “people,” what I’m noticing in all the wordgames is a need to gain control from the citizens over what’s seen as journalistic product.

There’s a common conceit that “the people” have no clue what they are doing, and that their attempts at journalism are amateurish. Nick Lemann isn’t the only one who thinks this way–just the only one to actually say directly.

Many others are perhaps saying it indirectly with tacit endorsement of new terminologies that are less than adequate.

IMO, all the language shift has to do with money and flagging business models. There’s always less concern about civic discourse when one’s bottom line is hurting. When one’s bottom line is hurting, and the investors are screaming, there’s also ample reason to want to gain control over *something*…

the only place to gain control is to try to take something away from a group that’s easy to characterize as rubes who know not what they do…

well, most citizen journalists (and I know a number) are anything *but* rubes. And because the citizens who are doing citizen journalism are very smart and very ‘net savvy, I don’t think anyone, even the likes of Jeff Jarvis, will be able to upend the term that many use, quite appropriately, with great pride and distinction.