Citizen Journalism Training from SPJ

I want to let folks know that there are some opportunities for citizen journalism training that are happening around the country. The Society of Professional Journalists is having, I guess you could call them, workshops/seminars in how to use journalism techniques in blogs and vlogs.

The price is right and the topics are timely such as (from the web site) :

• Journalism ethics. The new-media landscape is rife with dilemmas for anyone wanting to report accurately, fairly and outside the bounds of special interests.
• The basics of media law. The same longstanding laws concerning libel, slander and access to people and information apply to 21st-century news-gatherers.
• Access to pubic records and meetings. Public information can add substance and value to every news story. But knowing where to look for it can be tough.
  

If I can swing it I think I will attend. I'm pretty sure the conversation will be from the top down but I do think there are some intersections between journalists and bloggers that are common ground. Finding information, being accurate in what you write and being transparent. We want the same things. Honest, we do.

But I don't want "journalists" telling me that they are more legit than a good blogger who does his/her homework. Not after the boners that are spilling out from the professional side of the fence. Don't make me recite the long list of hack jobs like the L.A. Times and Sean Combs, that so-called debate with ABC's Gibson and Stephanopoulos, or the lack of questioning of those "military advisers" who all said the same thing at the same time. Y'all got played big time on that one.