The man who coined the term “citizen journalist” is visiting campus this week to provide insight on the future of his craft.
Technology writer and columnist Dan Gillmor lectured about entrepreneurship in media Wednesday as part of the Brownbag Research Series.
“He is probably the foremost thinker in the country on the role of news media and the way that technology is affecting how we all interact with the media,” said Jerry Ceppos, dean of the Manship School of Mass Communication.
Ceppos credited Gillmor with discovering the connection between news media and the role of regular people reporting news events.
Gillmor began Wednesday’s lecture with a journey through the media’s lifespan, beginning with cave drawings then moving through stages  — the Gutenberg Bible, radio, television and finally the Internet.
“We are heading into a diverse ecosystem that is more survivable, sustainable and healthy,” Gillmor said.
While news distribution is changing, Gillmor embraced it, saying the Internet perpetuates the distribution of news by telling people where to find information.
People are going to the news rather than having the news coming to them, he said.
Consumers of news are now the creators, Gillmor noted. With the use of mobile devices, bystanders are capturing news, like devastating natural disasters, more than ever.
News is moving from lecture to conversation, Gillmor said.
Gillmor said the greatest thing to happen to him as a journalist was realizing his readers knew more about the world than he did. All of a sudden, a multitude of people who could help him produce better work were at his fingertips.
News monopolies and oligopolies are waning, and it’s for the better because competition is beneficial, he said, and the
industry should be heading toward a variety of news models.
Gillmor also took a stab at the future of media output, predicting heads-up information displays, like information eye-wear.
“It is good for Italy because they make the most fashionable eye-wear,” he joked.
While Gillmor stressed the importance of social media – like Twitter and Facebook – to the future of journalism, he cautioned the high velocity of information output often leads to false claims.
Though sources like Twitter are often the first outlets where news is broken, they’re also the first place falsities emerge, he said.
Gillmor taught a class about entrepreneurial journalism with associate professor Craig Freeman Wednesday, and he will return for a week next month.
And while many predict doom and gloom pouring on the news industry, Gillmor said students are starting their careers in a time of limitless opportunities. Now is a time that student
journalists can create innovations and start up their own businesses, he said.
“You can make your luck now. You can make your future. You can make your job,” Gillmor said.
 
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Contact Ferris McDaniel at [email protected]