We live in a time in which professional journalists can no longer claim to be the sole purveyors of truthful, unbiased information to the public. Empowered by technology, the public can and will do its own research – sometimes surpassing, sometimes hoaxing the legacy media. In this situation, journalists should cast aside the old paradigm of authority, writes Marcel Broersma, of University of Groningen.

Broersma’s essay appeared as a book chapter in Rethinking Journalism. Trust and Participation in a Transformed News Landscape (2013), also edited by Broersma and his colleague Chris Peters, also of University of Groningen. Broersma’s chapter is now available online here.