Dan Gillmor interview

An interview with Dan Gillmor, author of We the Media. Check it out here.

Creative CJ fills a void

This is a very interesting take on how two enterprising people are using citizen journalism to provide missing news and information.  My only comment is that careful selection of blog news sites is imperative.  But, this certainly seems like a resourceful solution.  Journalism Meets the Blog

Excerpt:  “We’re not fair and balanced,” Zuckerman said. “We’re diverse and transparent – that’s the difference between citizen journalism and blogging.”

When is a citizen a journalist?

One gets the sense that new case law will be emerging as incidents like this one continue to grab headlines.  What citizen journalists will come to understand is that they can’t have it both ways.  If they are to be taken seriously by professional media and the public, journalistic responsibilities will need to be adopted.  Should Josh Wolf turn over his tape?

Excerpt:  To Wolf, the government subpoena of his tape represents a threat to his ability to gather news as an independent reporter. He believes it’s yet another reel cast in a Justice Department fishing expedition that will stop at nothing to put his activist compatriots behind bars.

To the government, however, Wolf is a misguided, self-important young radical withholding evidence without legal justification. Regardless of the outcome, Wolf’s predicament raises questions about how much information journalists should turn over to the federal government, and how the legal system handles those who draw little distinction between citizen journalism and citizen activism.

Excerpt:  Wolf doesn’t want to give up the complete, unedited version of the tape. He believes the federal government is indiscriminately monitoring antiwar groups under suspicion of terrorism, and as a journalist he shouldn’t be forced to surrender unused footage in support of that investigation. He won’t say, though, what’s on the 15 or more minutes of the confidential portion of video.

Excerpt:  Nevertheless, as more Americans become self-appointed citizen journalists, with camera phones and digital cameras and even cheap handheld video cameras, more “news” will come from people like Wolf.

Blogburst acceptance

Today NextNews received confirmation that the blog has been accepted into the Blogburst network.  If you are unfamiliar with Blogburst, it is a members-only community of bloggers whose sites are promoted to traditional media outlets for publication.  Said another way, Blogburst is a network of subject-specific blogs aggregated to one site which "endorses" them as valuable for widespread distribution.  While I'm uncertain about how stringent the acceptance guidelines are, I'm proud to have been chosen nonetheless.  I'd like to think NextNews has some valuable things to offer.  Now we'll see if others agree.  And to Blogburst, thank you.

More social newsgathering buzz

The following link explores a radical but fascinating idea: an organic, hybrid “newspaper”, mixing blogs and trained journalists.  Stillbop: Shattered pane press

Excerpt: Conversations can take place on journalist blogs, blogger blogs and in the newspaper. All are interlinked. The readers decide where, when and how they choose to interact.

Social “news”gathering

It will be interesting to see if/when the MSM dip their collective toes into the emerging phenomenon of readers determining what deserves to be on the “front page”. 
Populist news sites give readers what they want / New tools measure buzz, helping online editors decide if a story deserves better play

Excerpt: What’s different now that Web sites are making news influenced by the masses the focus, instead of a sideshow. They are also culling through a broad spectrum of news, not just the limited universe available in Yahoo.

Bottom-up impact

Blogging4Business » “Ignore bloggers at your peril”

Excerpt: … a vocal minority of Web users — from my reading, it’s looks to be maybe 20 percent (and rising) — are turning to blogs, message boards, UseNet forums and the like to voice their critiques, concerns and praise for the brands and people they interact with every day. In doing so, they are shaping public opinion on news stories, company reputations and social trends.

CitJ, Down Under-style

Filtered: Exploiting citizen journalists

Excerpt: The obvious conclusion to draw is that the commercial stations can see a financial benefit from involving citizens in the reporting cycle. They’re also not afraid to tell you that your content will be exploited for commercial gain with little credit given to you for your work. And so you’d have to ask why you’d bother, right?

An interesting and important question: What is journalism?

Teaching Online Journalism: What is journalism?

Excerpt:  The public would be better served by a frank discussion of what journalism is than by a lot of bickering about who is a journalist.

Citizen Journalism, Asian-style

An interesting conference is underway in Manila, Philippines, addressing major issues surrounding citizen journalism.  You can follow the conference events here:  Free Expression in Asian Cyberspace

More odds and ends

Here’s an interesting look at how we are/should be approaching the future Web.  Morph: Three Futurist Ideas

CitJ roundup

A potpourri of online journalism news.  Online journalism roundup – Editors Weblog

Kalypso’s New Orleans: raw Citizen Journalism from the city under the sea

Criticize it if you must, but this amateur video – shot, written and narrated by a 10-year-old girl – about post-Katrina New Orleans is impressive.  YouTube – Kalypso’s New Orleans

Cyber dissidence

Wanabehuman has a thoughtful overview of critical issues surrounding Citizen Journalism, and in so doing makes the case that CJ is having a profound impact on certain restrictive governments.  Americans would do well to remember that we don’t own the Internet, and that in many places the Web is being used to pressure oppressive regimes instead of searching for porn or managing fantasy sports teams. 

Excerpt:  The traditional media have been tightly controlled in both China and Iran. The new media pose a threat to that control, evidenced by the measures governments have taken.

Takin’ it to the streets

Could you see yourself or your organization engaged in Citizen Journalism?  Do you think you could write and publish, via the Web, a story about your club or church or Little League?  A leading authority on the subject told a Vermont alternative newspaper that’s just what you should be doing.  Seven Days: DIY Journalism

Excerpt:  Critics charge that these amateurs are ruining journalism. They contend that letting readers write the news is bad for democracy, because it threatens the crucial watchdog role professional reporters play in American life.

But citizen media pioneer Dan Gillmor speculates that the opposite is true… He argues that encouraging readers to participate in the journalistic process will actually reinvigorate the traditional media — daily newspapers in particular are suffering from layoffs and circulation woes — and spur community involvement and activism.