WHILE PASSION is the most important ingredient for a writer, to be a Citizen Journalist one needs much more than that. Anyone can report and be part of news reporting, thanks to the popularization of Citizen Journalism but at the same time such journalists require a few tools to carry out their tasks effectively. Whether a Citizen Journalist is reporting about some political party taking out a rally or a page 3 launch party, they require at least five tools in order to make their contribution. The tools of Citizen Journalists are as follows:

A Citizen Journalist must have a notepad. In order to take down important details such as the venue of a particular incident, the time and the day with the number of people involved in the matter, the name of any famous personalities involved in the incident, facts and figures, and direct quotes from sources - all of which must be noted to maintain a record. Always keep a small notebook and pen on you to put down the information that you gather when you get the opportunity.

At a time when news spreads in a matter of minutes and flash mobs are organized in no time, having a video camera handy can be very useful as moving images can have a devastating effect in the minds of viewers and decision makers. The Arab Spring saw a number of people capturing events on the streets live and uploading the same on social and mainstream media.

People who are pursuing Citizen Journalism with sincerity must have an Associated Press Stylebook, which is like the bible for all journalists. This is a guide to how to report, grammar, punctuation, abbreviations, spelling, numerals and usage. Citizen Journalists must consider this as a very important part of their toolkit as it helps them in more than one ways. Updated in June, the stylebook has continues revisions in its issues. Following the stylebook enables more positive consideration of submissions by citizen reporters.

For Citizen Journalists, who are hot on the trail of some investigative story or they are doing an interview, a digital recorder is a must. Digital recorders record in the MP3 format and can easily be uploaded by anyone. Citizen Journalists, whose forte is to take interviews, must have this tool with them.

The last but not the least in the list of tools for Citizen Journalists is a computer or a laptop with an Internet connection or easy access to one. Since Citizen Journalists work and write for their own personal satisfaction and not necessarily for an organisation, they must have this tool. Without a computer and an Internet connection, Citizen Journalists will not be able to write or upload their own news.