Has internet journalism come of age? Interesting debate on video

The BBC published an interview on Wednesday hosted by JeremyPaxman of Newsnight (UK TV) with Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post and Anne McElvoy of the Evening Standard. The video lasts 5.32 minutes and contains some interesting stuff.

The questions debated is, has Internet journalism come of age?

Posted by Bob Toovey on 02 July 2009
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YouTube launces new service to aid journalists

YouTube has launched a new service to help and educated budding citizen journalists. The Reporters' Center features videos recorded by top journalists giving helpful advice. Katie Couric (CBS News) explaining how to conduct a good interview and Bob Woodward (Washington Post) on how to be an investigative reporter.

Posted by Bob Toovey on 30 June 2009
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Demotix covers unrest in Iran, gets coverage in mainstream media

The real power of the Internet is shown when Governments try to stop their citizens from gaining access to the world outside and for that matter, stopping the world from looking in. Especially during difficult times such as elections and social uprising. So it's not surprising that little information is escaping Iran.

However news reports are escaping that country and one site that is attempting to keep track and to filter the true reports and not Government propaganda is Demotix.

They have identified trustworthy Twitter users and sources of news and pictures. Their dedicated page provides coverage as it comes in.

Andy at Demotix emailed me earlier today describing how things were going...

It’s generating fantastic buzz for Demotix. Turi was on BBC Radio Four’s Today Programme this morning (http://bit.ly/LRqDH) and on Radio Five Live (http://bit.ly/18rIdG at 07:08). He’ll also be interviewed by the BBC News Channel, Five Live, Radio Scotland and Reuters today.

This is great exposure for Demotix and more importantly our contributors in Iran.

Posted by Bob Toovey on 16 June 2009
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Demotix strikes deal with the Telegraph

I reported about Demotix, the photographers CJ site, back in February this year. Since then they have gone from strength to strength. I received a press release from them recently with their latest accomplishment. The Telegraph (UK newspaper) now features the 'Demotix best of content' widget on the World News section.

We're thrilled - it's our first major subscription deal in the UK, and (with 23 million unique users/month) it means masses more exposure for our contributors.

The full press release is below.

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Demotix, the award-winning user-generated newswire, has signed an exclusive deal with the Telegraph website for its Widget.

The Telegraph, with the UK’s biggest broadsheet web audience and over 23 million unique viewers in April 09, is carrying the Demotix Widget on its World News page. It joins Le Monde in France, Lebanon’s Future News and the Himalayan Times of Nepal.

The Demotix Widget features the best daily stories from Demotix’ 5,600 users around the world (120 countries and counting) telling stories the traditional newswires could never find.

Demotix CEO, Turi Munthe, said: "For Demotix, this is really exciting. The Telegraph was our very earliest supporter, and immediately understood what we were trying to achieve. As for our contributors, the chance to get their stories out to so many people in the UK, US, Canada and elsewhere is fantastic. Demotix was founded to give a loudspeaker to the man and woman on the street. With this partnership, their voices just got louder."

Justin Williams, Assistant Editor, The Daily Telegraph, said: "We're delighted to showcase Demotix's amazing images to telegraph.co.uk's global audience. The Telegraph was the first UK media organisation to spot the immense potential of Demotix and its global network of correspondents and we're looking forward to continuing the partnership as this innovative project continues to grow in size and influence."

Posted by Bob Toovey on 08 June 2009
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Is paid-to-read going to replace lost advertising sales?

Not sure if I should feel sorry for newspaper publishers or not. A recent report on TechCrunch (From Terrible To Terrifying: Newspaper Ad Sales Plummet $2.6 Billion In Q1 2009) states that newspaper advert sales has fallen sharply...

The stats show that total newspaper ad sales dropped by an unprecedented 28.28% in the first quarter of 2009, a deep plunge that represents a loss of more than $2.6 billion in ad revenue compared year-over-year. Compared to 3 years ago - 2006 was a pretty good year for American newspapers - we’re looking at a drop of more than $4.5 billion in ad sales in just three years if you only take into account the first quarter.

So to counter that, Newpapers are going to insist you pay to read it online. From Techdirt, Newspapers Gather In Secret (With An Antitrust Lawyer) To Collude Over Paywalls...

You may have noticed a bunch of stories recently about how newspapers should get an antitrust exemption to allow them to collude -- working together to all put in place a paywall at the same time. That hasn't gone anywhere, so apparently the newspapers decided to just go ahead and try to get together quietly themselves without letting anyone know. But, of course, you don't get a bunch of newspaper execs together without someone either noticing or leaking the news... so it got out. And then the newspapers admitted it with a carefully worded statement about how they got together "to discuss how best to support and preserve the traditions of newsgathering that will serve the American public." And, yes, they apparently had an antitrust lawyer or two involved.

So with advert sales on a sharp decline, the newpaper industry plans to create pay-to-read systems. The question is, would you pay if you could get the same news from CJ bloggers?

Posted by Bob Toovey on 02 June 2009
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A definition of Citizen Journalism

This video is from Jay Rosen, professor of Journalism at NYU. This is his definition of Citizen Journalism. Do you agree or do you have a different idea of what it is?

Posted by Bob Toovey on 29 May 2009
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CJ website offers an incentive - get paid for page views

If you are a keen Citizen Journalist and looking for a site to write for then do check out This is Diversity. They emailed me a few days ago with the following, “ThisIsDiversity is a global community of citizen journalists. Our goal is to facilitate awareness and understanding by bringing together diverse viewpoints on important issues.”. Very lofty goals.

However, while checking out the about page I discovered something rather interesting, they will pay to writers...

Incentive Program
The citizen journalism incentive program rewards users who contribute content and build their ThisIsDiversity fan base. Our incentives are valid through 2009.
1) For every 1,000 page views your account attracts, you will receive $10 (we will accrue and hold payment until total amount reaches $100). We track the cumulative views per user account, so if you reach 1,000 views with one article or one hundred articles, you qualify.
2) Each month, a panel of judges will select the top articles from each topic. Based on predetermined criteria, the best article will be chosen and the winner will receive a commemorative print of their story as well as $1,000.
If you have any questions about the incentive program, please email us at editor@thisisdiversity.com

There is no indication if this is a long term incentive, I am not sure if any CJ site could sustain such an idea.

Posted by Bob Toovey on 25 May 2009
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Citizen Eye heading for print

John Costner of Citizen Eye has been touch to let me know about his latest project. I have previously mentioned his work on citizen reporting (Pensioners take action over benefits) but now he is expanding in to print.

I'm planning to launch a newspaper in the city editorially run by young people only. I have the young people team in place, a group of 'mainstream' journos who have been made redundant and I've devised a rather basic funding model to allow it to be self financing from day one.

John is aiming for a tabloid format of 24 colour pages, available monthly. I hope John succeeds where the mainstream press seem to be failing.

Posted by Bob Toovey on 11 May 2009
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GroundReport is hyperlocal

GroundReport is a 'hyperlocal' citizen reporting site. They say they are different because they do not use reporters but rely on citizens all over the globe to report on the news happening where they are.

We're different because unlike traditional news organizations, GroundReport has no overhead and reporters are already on the ground, at the scene--all over the world.  There are no barriers to reporting the news, which means GroundReport coverage is faster, deeper and more global.

And more from their about page...

GroundReport.com is the world's hyperlocal citizen news platform, empowering anyone to post news reports, videos and photos and earn money. Every day Ground Report’s network of over 4,000 international contributors publish breaking news articles, videos and photos, which are vetted by  trusted corps of trained editors.

Our major 2008 coverage included scoops from the Beijing Olympics, U.S. Presidential elections and Mumbai terrorist attacks. GroundReport was founded in 2006 by former UN reporter Rachel Sterne, inspired by her experience reporting on the Security Council. Named one of America's 'most promising social enterprises' by BusinessWeek in 2009, GroundReport's mission is to democratize the media.

Posted by Bob Toovey on 27 April 2009
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Pensioners take action over benefits

Pensioners in Leicester took to the streets to protest over the level of payment they receive. They managed to block traffic and gain a lot of public support. John Costner of Citizens Eye caught the protest and interviewed some of those involved.

In good CJ style, John used a Nokia N96 for the video.

The YouTube hosted video is below and Johns posting can be found here, Older People taking ‘direct action’

Posted by Bob Toovey on 03 April 2009
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