While I work just a few blocks away from where the plane descended into the Hudson, my first indication that anything was going on came from Twitter.

I then went to CNN, 1010 wins, and WABC.com – trying to get some coverage. Minutes went by.

I’m not one of these people that believes that citizen journalism replaces professional news organizations. But I do think that the very nature of what mainstream media does is changing.

Today – people are equipped with news gathering devices (cell phones). So first-person breaking news is going to come from the sources closest to the event. Then, organizations like CNN are going to have to determine when reports are credible – and this may not mean having their own reporter confirm the news. It may be that 5, or 10, or 20 twitter posts that all say the something will be considered verification. Or, news organizations will have to come up with new ways to classify what they’re reporting.

The idea that this is some sort of bargain basement of low cost news gathering diminishes the importance and the interesting evolution of media.

Blaming first person reporting for the demise of news is like blaming Craigs list for the current condition of the Newspaper Industry.

When I lauched MTV UNfiltered in 1994 – it was clear that formerly passive viewers would evolve into media makers and active participants.

With that handwriting on the wall, smart media will embrace and engage user generated content, and provide trusted filters that balance speed with accuracy.

Scott, I’m assuming that if anyone at the news orgs thought about it, they just assumed that it qualified as fair use. But I don’t want to put words in their mouths.

Your friend’s network probably gets a lot of citizen submissions they didn’t used to get, and I assume the terms indicate that you grant rights by submitting. But I hope news agencies don’t just forget about licensing as they troll Twitter, Flickr, etc. for content.

Sadly editors seemingly would rather use jaggy, out-of-focus, photos from amateurs because they’re too cheap to pay for better photos from journalists who use cameras if they don’t have to.

But then word herders have been waiting for this day for a long time so they could stick it to those uppity photographers who care about such things as the journalistic integrity of the photos more than what might sell today’s paper.

Me a former newspaper photographer bitter? Nah. I’m much better off now in my current job as a globe-trotting editorial photographer and educator. But I haven’t forgotten where I came from and who had the power.