Sunday, September 25, 2005

In Pursuit of Citizen Journalism

Learning How to Build a Community News Site

Citizen journalism, a relatively new term associated with online reporting, has caught on quickly worldwide. Also known as "participatory journalism," this form of writing involves citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information." That definition comes from experts Shayne Bowman and Chris Willis.

Interested in pursuing this art form? Check out a "how-to" digital handbook about this type of journalism. It offers basic skills training on how to plan a community news site, build it, use the latest off-the-shelf software to add online features, and then market it and track users. Use this handbook to learn the basics of Web site creation, HTML, page design and use of photos, audio, video, animation, surveys and databases. The site also features tips on advertising, fundraising and ecommerce. It was created for citizens media projects, small-market news organizations and journalism new media programs. Details:

Meanwhile, Al Gore's new cable network Current features video produced by young, non-journalists to provide voices from outside the mainstream media. But inside the mainstream, professional journalists debate its value. Citizen journalism and Gore's Current network were the topic of Talk of the Nation last month on National Public Radio. A panel of guests joined host Neal Conan for the show. Streaming audio of the show is available on the NPR website.

More information about Current is available on the network's website:


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4 comments:

Alina said...

This is my first stop here, but I must say I dind't think it would be so interesting. I checked the J-learning site, it is quite a read!

Deb Sistrunk Nelson said...

Kayla, I am glad that you stopped by to visit - and that you found the J-Learning site of interest. Thanks so much for the feedback.

Rose said...

You continue to amaze me with your topics. Very interesting.

Deb Sistrunk Nelson said...

Thank you, Rose. Citizen journalism may not interest everyone, but to me it is an intriguing topic - especially since so many people are pursuing this form of writing. As always, thanks for stopping by.