Remembering George Lynch

The Bakersfield Californian was one of the leaders in embracing so-called "citizen journalism," in which everyday people are given space in our pages and websites.

The concept was a recognition that our readers often know more than we do, particularly when it comes to niche topics. As paid professionals, journalists certainly bring expertise to the equation, but we can't be experts at everything.

Inviting readers to the table makes so much sense. But the newspaper business can be an insular world, and early on in the experiment, fellow journalists would ask me at conferences in the U.S. and Europe, "Aren't you worried about bad writing or mistakes? Who's checking this stuff to make sure it's good? Do you really believe anyone reads this stuff?"

Valid questions, but you could ask the same of paid journalists, some of whom were churning out boring, thinly sourced stories written for narrow audiences, and refusing to come out from behind their lecturns and mingle with the masses.

George LynchSo, when asked questions like, "Is there really any citizen journalism that's good?" I often referred to stories submitted by local amateur historian George Lynch.

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