Last night’s panel at the Social Media Club of LA got into a spirited discussion about the pros and cons of citizen journalism.  The event was covered by Fox 11 news.

Alexia Tsotsis, tech/business lifestyle reporter for the LAWeekly was the moderator. (@alexiatsotsis)

Panelists were:

David Sarno, a Los Angeles Times Internet business reporter. (@dsarno)

Christina Gagnier, a strategist, Information Broker, Partner @ Gagnier Margossian and CEO @ REALPOLITECH (@gagnier)

Andy Sternberg,the Interactive Director for Live Earth as well as the News Editor at LAist.com  (@andysternberg)

Chris Tolles,the CEO of Topix, a community news site. (@tolles)

David Sarno kicked off the discussion by saying that just as you need to go to schcool to be a doctor or a lawyer, so too do you need training to be a good journalist.  You’d never use a ‘citizen’ doctor when you’re ill, so why would you want to get your news from a citizen journalist?  To be a good journalist you have to be responsible about your reporting.  Verify the facts before you publish.

Andy Sternberg countered that stories from people on the spot have value and Christine Gagnier agreed that non profits should use new media to tell their stories.    These are real  stories other people want to hear and they are usually not told in mainstream  media.

The best line of the night:

“All the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t put Craig’s List back in the box again.”

David Sarno on what killed the newspaper revenue model.

Correction:  Chris Tolles said this.