Is Citizen Journalism a challenge or an opportunity for professional journalism?

That's a good question. The answer isn't either/or; it's 'both/and'. It's a bit like asking, "Is e-commerce a challenge or an opportunity for brick-and-mortar stores?" You'd agree it's both, right? The relationship between citizen journalism and professional journalism is quite similar.

Let's discuss it separately:

First, let's talk about the challenges, which are the most obvious.

Fast, but not necessarily accurate: Citizen journalism's biggest characteristic is speed. When something happens, a passerby pulls out their phone, shoots a video, and posts it, much faster than a reporter can get to the scene. But here's the problem: speed often leads to errors. The person filming might only see one corner of the event, or they might not fully understand the situation themselves, or even be driven by strong emotions. Professional journalists, on the other hand, have a set process, such as cross-referencing sources (not just relying on one account) and verifying with official channels, all of which take time. In the internet age, where speed is paramount, professional journalism often can't keep up. By the time they finally verify and publish a report, the initial wave of attention has already passed.
Hard to distinguish truth from falsehood, eroding trust: The flip side of "everyone can speak" is "everyone is speaking." How many fake news stories, personal biases, or even deliberately fabricated rumors are mixed in, making it difficult for ordinary people to discern? Professional journalism, at least, has a "gatekeeper" role, with editors, reviewers, and a set of professional ethics governing it. When information is flying everywhere, people don't know who to believe, sometimes leading to skepticism about all news, which is a significant blow to the credibility of professional journalism.
Competition for resources: To put it more bluntly, previously only media outlets could publish news; now everyone is a "self-media" creator. Both traffic and advertising revenue have been heavily diverted, putting immense pressure on the survival of professional news organizations.

But from another perspective, this presents enormous opportunities.

Ubiquitous "eyes" and "ears": For example, professional journalists are like a regular army, but even the most powerful army cannot be everywhere on the battlefield. Citizen journalists are like widespread "militia" and "scouts," providing countless leads and raw material for professional news reporting with their first-hand footage and information captured on phones. Many initial breaking news stories come from ordinary netizens. Professional journalists can follow these leads to conduct in-depth investigations, turning a single tip into a complete, in-depth report.
Forcing professional journalism to upgrade: The emergence of citizen journalism also forces the professional news industry to ponder: What is my core value? If it's just about who publishes faster, then we definitely can't beat netizens. Therefore, professional journalism must go "deeper." It's no longer simply "reporting what happened," but rather "explaining why it happened," "what this event means," and "what unseen connections lie behind it." In other words, it's shifting from competing on speed to competing on depth, perspective, and analytical ability. This actually brings professional journalism back to what it ought to be.
Building new connections: Citizen journalism makes news organizations more grounded. They can interact with citizens who provide leads, organize discussions around topics of public concern, transforming news from a cold "I speak, you listen" into a two-way exchange. This helps news organizations rebuild trust with their readers.

So, to summarize my view:

Citizen journalism is not meant to replace professional journalism; they are more like two different species in a new ecosystem, with competition, but more importantly, symbiosis.

Their relationship is somewhat like "ingredients" and a "chef" in a large kitchen.

Citizen journalism is like a huge, bustling, and even somewhat chaotic vegetable market, providing a massive amount of fresh, raw "ingredients" (information). These ingredients vary in quality, some true, some false, and require careful selection.
Professional journalism is the "chef." Their task isn't to grow every single vegetable themselves (though sometimes they might need to), but to go into this large market, and with their professional discernment and standards, select the best and most reliable ingredients. Then, through their professional skills (investigation, analysis, writing), they transform them into a "grand meal" that is nutritious, safe, delicious, and understandable to the average person.

So, the challenge lies in how to maintain one's standards and credibility in this noisy market, while the opportunity lies in how to effectively utilize this continuous stream of fresh ingredients to create more valuable "grand meals."