Media commentator Jeff Jarvis and Guardian America editor Michael Tomasky debate whether citizen journalists have the same responsibilities as a journalist when reporting news.

Jarvis: ‘openness for all’

“With more openness and more reporting – by all – we will end up with more stories, the public will get more information, and politicians will learn that anything and everything they say and do can (and should) be reported,” writes Jarvis.

Tomasky: Cit-j accounts need verification

“And very few journalists I know would favour ‘[hiding] anything from the public.’ They would, however, favour not publishing something until it’s verified. That’s scarcely complicity in secret-keeping. That’s just being responsible.”