Comments on: Citizen Journalists: A Good Thing… Sort Of

By: David Reich "my 2 cents"

David Reich "my 2 cents" — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:10:16 +0000

Judy, we seem to share the same hopes and the same concerns about citizen journalism and sites like MowPublic.
Michael, thanks for checking in here and I appreciate your willingness to listen. The eBay analogy is ok, but I still believe sites like yours will need to do some vetting of your own, rather than rely on readers to eventually know who’s reliable and who’s not. Otherwise, you’re just a giant blog of sorts, and not a real news service.
Good luck with the venture. We’ll be watching.

By: Judy Gombita

Judy Gombita — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 12:55:49 +0000

At the mesh07 conference (Toronto, May 2007) an optional panel discussion was “Digital Blinders – Are We an Inch Wide and a Mile Deep?” One of its panelists was Mark Schneider, “…the Actual News Guy at NowPublic.com. Mark was the first senior editor, new media at CTV National News, and hosted the network’s Digital Desk, a daily news feature, until 2002. He has taught at the Medill School of Journalism in Evanston, Ill., and at the University of British Columbia.”
NowPublic was definitely in the inch-wide part of the equation for the discussions. (Nora Young from CBC Radio was the mile-deep advocate. The third panelist, Mark Federman, was more the trend identifier, the former chief strategist at the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology, University of Toronto.)
What I like about a platform like NowPublic is the inclusiveness/lack of gatekeeping of contributors, from a wide variety of sources. Schneider talked about how the platform allowed community activists from around the world (including developing countries) to get their stories, aspirations and concerns out to a global audience.
What I dislike about any site that relies on “citizen journalists” is the lack of vetted research. Plus a dearth of critical thought, which seems endemic to things posted quick and dirty, where being timely is more important than ensuring that information is factual, comprehensive and objective. I like a little more depth (if not always a mile) to my information sources, which is probably why I find the current “Media Snackers” meme that is roaring around a small corner of the blogosphere rather self-indulgent and boring.
I did appreciate the fact that this rather esoteric topic and intelligent discussion (all three panelists were quite thoughtful and articulate) was included on the agenda of a conference that is focused primarily on social media.

By: Michael Tippett

Michael Tippett — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 01:02:06 +0000

Hi David,
This is Michael Tippett, one of the other co-founders of NowPublic.
Your concerns are valid and I share them but at NowPublic we think that the marketplace – and our site in particular – will evolve in the same way that ebay did. We think that the community itself will regulate behavior. If I can buy a house on Ebay from someone I’ve never met then presumably I can buy a news report – so long as the seller has a sound reputation.
Please keep the commentary coming. We appreciate the feedback.
Best,
Michael, NowPublic.com

By: David Reich "my 2 cents"

David Reich "my 2 cents" — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:15:23 +0000

Fresh perspectives on the news would be a good thing. My concern is how factual some of those perspectives might be.

By: David Reich "my 2 cents"

David Reich "my 2 cents" — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:14:43 +0000

Fresh perspectives on the news would be a good thing. My concern is how factual some of those perspectives might be.

By: Paul Barsch

Paul Barsch — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:41:29 +0000

David, I’m with you about the need for editorial control and verification. It’s critical.
Where I think the impact of this idea might be is some fresh takes, perspectives from other willing contributors. A key interest for me is whether the citizen journalism will get us back to more fact-based reporting and less opinion/slant/agenda intertwined in the article content, or whether things stay the same. God forbid they get worse.
It will be an interesting experiment.