France’s Actions Could Stymie Citizen Journalism
People who are frequent readers of the PJNet.org know I am adamantly opposed to any form of certifying who is a journalist and who is not and who is sanctioned to perform acts of journalism. France has decided to make it illegal for citizen journalists to publish videos depicting violence. Macworld has a good overview of the issue. Its concluding sentence is a prime example of why I am so opposed to certification:
The government has also proposed a certification system for Web sites, blog hosters, mobile-phone operators and Internet service providers, identifying them as government-approved sources of information if they adhere to certain rules. The journalistsâ organization Reporters Without Borders, which campaigns for a free press, has warned that such a system could lead to excessive self censorship as organizations worried about losing their certification suppress certain stories.
