When a Boston Globe reporter wanted to illustrate a story he was doing on a tech conference, he jumped on the photo-sharing social media platform Flickr, got permission from the shooters and ran their photos in a strip like a contact sheet, according to an Online Journalism Review article entitled “Flickr, Buzznet expand citizens’ role in visual journalism.” The article surmises that photo-sharing platforms such as Flickr and Buzznet may be giving us a glimpse of a “global photo album” of the future that newspapers could tap into to help illustrate stories or capture breaking news when staff photographers are not on the scene.
In France, a small, young company based in Paris called Citizenside is hoping that citizen photojournalism may be a wave of the future. Through its 35,000 member community, the company gathers photos, checks their validity and then offers them to media outlets for purchase (75 percent of the money goes to the contributor), according to an article in the EditorsWeblog. Photos from these “news witnesses” have appeared on the cover of the French daily Liberation, and in Le Point magazine and Le Figaro.
I suppose this is new incentive to carry a camera (or have a good camera on your phone)…Who knows when you might be in the middle of breaking news!
Newspapers & Social Media 
From the perspective of “a broader view of the world,” the notion of citizen photojournalism is great. However, I have some concerns. For years, we “word” journalists had to agree that, in many instances, one photo was worth a thousand words. And in the case of legitimate photos, that continues to be be true.
The concern arises with the technology available to alter photos. A photo of a man holding a bottle of Pepsi can easily be altered to depict that man holding a handgun.
The challenge with citizen journalists (as it is with professional journalists) is to get get those committed to protecting our democracy to exercise ethical principles.
Thanks for your comment. I agree that the ability to authenticate photos is key. With the technology available today anyone can so easily alter and airbrush, as you mentioned.
What a great way to document the every day, but miraculous world we live in. We should encourage posting of pictures that stun in a good way, no?
I agree! Thanks for your comment!