I don’t believe there will ever be complete separation of business and journalism. If news and journalism didn’t make money then we wouldn’t have the media we do today. The idea that those who write for money are any more or less journalist than those who don’t is part of the larger discussion around what a journalist is now in an age when the tools to publish are readily available.

Or is that the definition of a citizen journalist? Someone who reports and doesn’t make a penny from it? What happens if that person is asked to do it for money? Do they lose the ‘citizen’?

Business and journalism have always been intertwined often to the detriment of journalistic integrity.

Ultimately it is up to the consumers of ONLINE media to decide/discover for themselves (each on an individual basis) whether what they are consuming is biased, ‘sponsored’ or inaccurate and that is unfortunate and prone to misinterpretation.

If someone blogs about social media and business and makes no money directly from it are they any less of a citizen journalist than someone who blogs about social issues or social media and education?

As people we often view business as the enemy. Businesses are people; people are businesses. Complete separation of the two is unrealistic.

Business is a part of our society. It’s not perfect and it needs a hell of a lot of work, but it’s not the enemy and it’s not something to be held against people whatever their association with it.