Mayhill Fowler -vs- Obama

I give Mayhill Fowler a lot of credit for publishing her story on Obama's comments. Not only does she write of the very-liberal Huffington Post, but she also was an Obama contributor and supporter herself. Other journalists, mainstream or citizen, might not have run the story because of their own personal bias and what the story would have done to the Obama campaign. But Fowler put aside her own politics and, in my opinion, did the right thing. She should be commended for that.

One thing that really struck me as I read this article was the opinions on citizen journalism. Citizen journalism has become the big thing. Many people praise it for being this great thing, a way for the "real" news get reported fairly and unbaisedly. And that is exactly what Fowler did: she reported the real news fairly and unbiasedly. But whenever something is reported that goes against the views of people, they attack it. I think Fowler's case demonstrates this perfectly.

What if she hadn't been a citizen journalist for the Huffington Post? What if she had been someone who had happened to catch the same statement from Obama and posted it online? Then what? Would she have gotten all of those hate emails? Or would she be heralded as a great online journalist?