Citizen journalism from GroundReport shown on US television

Posted by Emma Heald on February 4, 2009 at 11:59 AM

GroundReport, a global citizen journalism initiative, has partnered with the WorldFocus programme from WNET, parent company of two New York public television stations, to create 'Talk To Us', a segment that asks for global views on top news stories.

The segment will include citizen-produced videos in response to questions and topics that are relevant to the programme's international news coverage. Contributors can upload their news reports via YouTube or GroundReport.com, where they will earn a revenue share, said Rachel Sterne, CEO of GroundReport. GroundReport.com has a network of 3,500 international contributors who publish breaking news articles, videos and photos, which are vetted by a trusted corps of trained editors. Anyone can join, and participants earn money.

"Viewers will gain local insight and access to foreign coverage and see what's really going on in the world in a way traditional news organizations are unable to report," commented Neal Shapiro, President and CEO of WNET. The first question, asked the world (outside US), "What's Your Advice for President Barack Obama?"

Citizen journalism websites are flourishing all over the world, but this is the first time that a mainstream US channel has committed to airing a citizen journalism segment on prime time television. As well as providing information from a wider range of sources with a wider range of view points, citizen journalism has the obvious advantage of being cheap to obtain, and in this time of crisis for the media industry, making use of it can be a good way to save on resources. Editing and vetting by professionals is essential, however, if it is to provide a trusted source of information.

Source: PR Newswire