Michael Rogers

Mass media will try to coopt citizen journalism. Most will botch, a few will get it right.

Introduced Dan Gillmor, Eun-taek Hong, Ethan Zuckerman

Dan Gillmor

The best reporting being done on Guantanamo is by the ACLU. this is stuff the MSM used to do well. These tools are perfect for what you're doing.The mass media will try to adopt, co-opt, but can't control it. The barrier to entry is zero.

(someone's personal video of tsunami) Democratized media: not ability to vote, but to participate -- tools are in the hands of everyone who wants to use them, at least in the developed world

Distribution is more democratized, altho our friends at phone and cable companies are trying to take that away.

did you know the Pentagon is doing podcasts? When I heard about it, I thought, "Well, that's over." Rocketboom. think about the word "convergence."

Old media, to new media, to we media, where grassroots is the norm.

Journalism has been a lecture; now becomes more like a conversation. First rule of conversation: listen. a skill journalists have to re-established.

Secrets emerge. (Abu Ghraib photo) privacy implications disturbing, but ability to keep secrets is diminished.

Need new tools around accuracy.

Finding ways to work with communities. Ask readers what they know. Any disaster that arises, media web sites ask people for video and photos. Bombing of Australian embassy, London bombings.

This has been done before; the citizen witness with a camera isn't new: Zapruder (JFK assassination) may be the most famous. Tomorrow, there would be a thousand people with cameras in Daly Plaza, from different angles, triangulated, three-D image.

New tools: satellite uplink in a briefcase.

Self-assembling newsrooms. Wikipedia: you have to take into account what the people who disagree with you the most would do.

showed the Bush/Blair "endless love" video - http://www.atmo.se/zino.aspx?pageID=44&documentID=276&articleID=399

Vermont: Brattleboro.org

There's too much: how do we sort it out? Tools: technorati. Memeorandum.

"The daily we" may be coming soon

need to add reputation and other tools and tricks (Digg.com)

Great opportunity for journalism organizations to do something they haven't done, in a way that wouldn't impair impartiality: help ppl become involved in their communities on issues of interest. BBC's Action Network puts up tools to help people get involved, then reports on the campaigns that emerge. One of the first was a campaign to take public funding away from the BBC.

There are people outside of your place who can help you do a better job.

Center for Citizen Media (gave URL)

Eun-taek Hong, OhMyNews

OhMyNews International - Margot Hotus Salinas, lives in Rapa Nui (Easter Island), writes regularly - illustrates concept that every citizen is a reporter

From 727 citizen reporters (Feb. 2000) to 42,000+ -- presidential elections give an opportunity for rapid growth

Changing flow of news: audiences mingle together and interact

Web can be a multi-media news platform - 2004 general election was pivotal -- before election, president was impeached by conservative National Assembly -- 85,000 reader comments -- OhmyTV offered live webcasting of demonnstration, with staff reporters -- weekly print edition, with extras on the street

Editorial process: Citizen reporters screened by news guerilla desk, staff reporters screened by editorial desk

As of 2002, OMN was seventh among media in terms of more inluential, then sixth in 2004
income: news content 20%, voluntary subscriptions 10%, ad sales 70%

Offering lots of tips and ideas for citizen reporters

Ethan Zuckerman

How citizen journalism ties in with advocacy. Hao Wu a blogger, citizen journalist, filmmaker. Writes for Global Voices. We are an edited aggregator for what's going on around the world. He wrote about what was happening on blogs in China.

Problem: I don't know him well. We've traded about eight emails. This happens quite often with advocates: you're standing up for people you may not have much connection with. We ended up working with Hao Wu's sister (aka Nina), who started blogging a month and a half into the process. When someone is detained, you're told to keep your mouth shut. At first Nina was reluctant to have his case discussed, but realized government was lying to her. Started blogging about her brother, posted photos.

We started reading her blog, translating her posts and republishing them. Suddenly we were reporting what it does to a family when this happens. The next time when we end up with one of our reporters detained -- and two of our 100 reporters are in prison right now -- Zeng Jinyan's blog about Hu Jia was Nina's inspiration; now Zeng Jinyan is blogging about Hao Wu.

"Don't speak. Point." It's getting easier for people over the world to express themselves. As advocates, we historically speak on behalf of, but that's the wrong strategy. Our job now is to point to the person who's speaking, and get out of the way.

Sir Bob Geldof doesn't get it. This time around, he didn't bother raising money for Africa; he raised awareness. Put Madonna on a stage with no Africans, then when people complain put Africans on a stage on the other side of Britain.

Technorati instead encouraged people to blog about Live 8 and tag their posts, You went from the ridiculous to the sublime -- people blogging about whether Madonna would sing "material Girl" vs. Africans blogging about neocolonialism. There is a thriving African blogosphere. Wonderful hundred-comment-long threads where African activists engaged well-meaning but ill-informed commenters. T'rati wound up separating discussions, so you could see Africa bloggers. Sometimes what people are telling you is they want you to shut the hell up.

Net's first billion users took 36 years. Will take next billion around six years. They will come from China, India, Brazil, Africa and MENA. As of 2005, 36% of net users were in Asia; much fewer from North America.

In 1995, new users read email. In 2000, they read content. Today they create content: photos, videos. New users are all publishers.

The next billion are the next billion AUTHORS.

What to focus on:

• access to tools (not as much of a problem as you'd think)
• knowledge to use them
• translation of posts
• context
• amplifying

Working with groups like Reporters Without Borders, to ensure people can blog anonymously

Translation: team of poorly paid reporters

Making authors famous: e.g. stories getting picked up by Instapundit, Al Jazeera. Mainstream journalists are our best friends.

We aren't the NGOs doing this - a lot get it.

Human Rights Watch needs to be very careful about what they say. But they've also started the I Blog for Human Rights campaign. Darfur: kids' crayon drawings. Expression doesn't have to be high-tech.

ethanzuckerman.com/blog
freehaowu.org