Should citizen journalism be credited at the same level as professional journalism?

    

Image from www.onextrapixel.com

This article was about Steve Jobs the president of apple electronics where a citizen posted information about his death on CNN's I-report.  This is a prime example of a citizen journalist posting something that a journalist would have never posted.  First off a journalist would have had it confirmed the death before releasing to the public that Steve Jobs was dead.  Secondly, a journalist would have contacted his immediate family before releasing the data to the public.  Imagine finding out that your loved one died through a website to only later find out that it was all fake.  

This would not happen if a profession journalist would have covered the story or would have it?  Check this out, play the video and see this for yourself:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/04/new-york-post-photo-subway_n_2237300.html

The first story should not have been released but at least we can try to understand that this person was only a citizen and does not have to follow as many rules and regulations as a professional journalist but what about the second one?  What happened?  This was how his wife and son found out about his death.  Was this appropriate?  What should have been done?  Do you feel this image should have even been released and on the front cover of New York Post. 

When the event occurred in November 2012 many people were shocked to see this image on the front cover of their paper.  The thing that seemed to shock people even more than this image was the fact that the camera man was a professional journalist and choose to take pictures of this man right before he died instead of helping him out of the subway.  People were straight out appalled when they found out the photographer sold these pictures to other companies for person gain and did not go as far as to contact the family or ask for permission to use these images.   

If a citizen can produce the same quality of journalistic work then why can't they be credited at the same level?  There are many reasons why.  The first reason is because journalists need to follow the media creed and a code of ethics.  Part of this code ensures that the journalist will not release something that is inappropriate for the public to view.  

     

Please take a quick look at this article:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/98447-steve-jobs-fake-heart-attack-courtesy-of-cnn