YouTube is always looking for ways to move its image away from being the home of lowest-common-denominator consumer-generated video, populated by tell-it-all webcam clips or "my pet can out-trick your pet" snippets. With the launch of a CitizenNews channel, Google's billion-dollar baby hopes to be a conduit for folks that have a nose for news who come armed with a video camera (and a point of view). This effort appears to be a good-natured attempt at empowering citizens to tell stories, but in no way should it be labeled "news" or anything even close.

Take Vancouver, B.C.-based NowPublic, a company that understands the power of citizen media and its relationship to the news. It has built out a portal, platform and set of very handy tools, which has resulted in what most critics agree is the model for citizen media. It is CEO Len Brody who offered me the quote of the year when he said, "Calling people 'citizen journalists' is like saying you can be a 'citizen dentist.'" Understanding that NowPublic understands that credibility with consumers (and now with newspapers, which take his company very seriously) is what builds brand. NowPublic has tamed the citizen media mess by instituting a layer of checks and balances in the form of volunteer editors, experienced guides and a group of staff editors (including a former BBC News exec) who become final arbiters for content quality. YouTube's efforts only help to make NowPublic's case that citizen media is not easy and requires more than a name and fairly good intentions.

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Thanks for your pointer to "NowPublic"--indeed an excellent example of the mashup of citizen journalism powered by traditional journalism's "checks and balances." However, their efforts do not negate the legitimacy of the "news" delivered by pure citizen journalism.

There is no absolute definition of "news," nor does fact checking and editorial controls ensure accuracy or alleviate partisan bias.

Pure citizen journalism is not an alternative to traditional journalism. Rather, it augments traditional journalism. The degree to which I trust the accuracy and impartiality of either is based upon my personal judgment.