We exist in an era of journalism where knowledge is the religion of choice. The best articles are the most researched. The little green checkmarks on the fact-checking sites and the little white infoboxes on Instagram rule the day. But while yes, misinformation may exist, and the limitations of social media may frustrate all of us, the modern era of citizen journalism is pretty good for historically underrepresented people. Those who, in past iterations of the industry, simply existed or struggled to exist at all can now do more than that — they can tell their own stories. Anyone can be a journalist now.

This should not be taken lightly. It’s not funny — it’s actually pretty scary once you deeply think about it — and there are real consequences. Lowering the barrier to entry to journalism also raises the bar of moral responsibility, at least it does for people who care about truth. But the same social media apps that allow bots and ill-meaning people to subvert public opinion also give us access to wonderful new, diverse perspectives from those who previously lacked a public voice.

Modern accessibility of speech means journalism can shift away from being a jack-of-all-trades affair. To get its information, our society no longer needs to put all its trust in the small group of journalists whose full-time jobs were basically learning a little bit about everything. Instead, it can amplify the newfound myriad who know everything about one specific topic. We can actually rely on experts now, and not just the ones picked or screened by the establishment folks at the local papers. I don’t know about you, but I find that extremely liberating. Not that there’s anything wrong with the establishment journalists. In fact, I think there has never been a better time to be a journalist.

Life is malleable. Humans have an astounding amount of leeway to build the future; most people lose sight of that. But not in the field of journalism — the field of remembering. The juxtaposition between the malleability of life and the immovable facts of actions and outcomes is present in every story worth remembering. The modern era of citizen journalism is not bad. It does not take away that juxtaposition. The only new problem with citizen journalism is the noise that has to be sorted through. But you’ve gotta admit, there was always a lot of noise in the media industry anyway. If people can get better at sorting through noise, which I think they already are, then the diversity of perspectives unlocked by citizen and open-source journalism will be a big benefit. I believe the knowledge base journalism feeds on can be enriched by these approaches without detracting from journalistic standards. By searching for and embracing that concept of diverse perspectives, the media companies of tomorrow can build a more informed and honest future.