Jon Dube talks with Paul Sullivan, Steve Herrmann and Tony Hung.

Citizen journalists are now a reality.

Commenting and the discussion account for a vast part of the citizen journalism trend. A small number of stories can generate a massive number of discussions and interactions.

The BBC is committed to citizen journalism and sees it as a major area of focus. They need to figure out a way to manage the vast amount of information.

BBC has been successful integrating people from outside of the newsroom into the publishing of news (pictures, videos, etc.)

When dealing with citizen journalists it is CRITICAL to verify the information and focus on accuracy.

Big debate over who controls the content. Is it the big media like the BBC who control the final say or should it be up to the people creating the content to have final say?

There should be no distinction between pro and amateur. If you have a story to tell and can get it out there that is the key.

People feel alienated by big professional media. These same people feel they have a story to tell but instead of deal with breaking into the big media they have all the tools to go out and do it themselves with very little barriers.

The authority is shifting from big media to lots of little individuals.

There are always many sides to any story and traditional media puts their spin on the limited amount of information they cover. On the flip side, citizen journalists can and will dive into all the aspects and sides. In many cases there is a street authenticity for the citizen journalist.

What is and isn’t news is blurring. At the end of the day, being right and accurate is key, especially it you say something is news. This is especially important when peoples lives, etc. are involved.

Engaging citizen journalists cuts down on “the telephone” game. Traditional journalism is just as likely to getting it wrong from the get-go as would any citizen journalist. The editorial process does not guarantee facts in all cases.

Blogging requires good judgment when you are posting. The blogosphere is a self correcting environment and there is pressure to correct mistakes quickly. This enables a decent conversation and also helps the information spread.

Amateur bloggers need to be careful because they don’t have the backing of a corporate entity when it comes to litigation, cease and desists, etc. They do need to understand their rights as well as what impacts certain decisions may have. In many cases it is important for the blogger community to support each other.

Online media literacy is a green field and there needs to be more collaboration between pros and amateurs in order to help work on this they have in common like legal issues.

Everyone has a story to tell and as long as they have the ability to tell that story it will add to the vast fabric of the public discussion. You can often tell that story without having to be an amazing writer, especially when you consider contributing pictures and video.

It’s time to move away from the sterile view of the world and open up the discussion.

The traditional media needs more transparency through to their policies, procedures, etc. so that they can retain the publics trust. The public needs the information so they can decide if they are going to agree or not.

Bringing in as many sources as possible to tell a story is easier said that done, but despite the heavy resource requirements, this is increasingly when needs to happen. Pulling in citizen journalists and turning their stories around to a larger audience is important. The logistics are complicated though.

The media is for the people and should include the people.

There will always be big media brands. In the future, the bloggers of today may be the new big brands down the road.

With all the choice right now, will we still have to pay for media in the future? Paying for content is an outdated idea since it’s value is reduced in the pool of ultimate choice. The “war on attention” will definitely continue.