Assignment Zero: Paving the way for pro-am journalism
Introducing his “pro-am” (professional-amateur) journalism project, Assignment Zero, Jay Rosen tempers his success with reminders that these methods, although full of potential, still have a long way to go.
A collaborative effort between Wired News and Rosen’s NewAssignment.net, Assignment Zero was an experiment in building an Internet newsroom with professionals and citizen journalists working together. The initial project results, posted in May, feature crowdsourced fiction, photography, and artwork from over 70 contributors.
“I wouldn’t say it’s easy for widely scattered people working together voluntarily on the net to report on a big story unfolding in many places at once. But we know a lot more about it now than we did when we started, and one of the goals of Assignment Zero was to test whether pro-am methods had potential. I think they do, but we haven’t really unlocked it yet. We are, however, getting closer,’ says Rosen, of the project.
As Rosen’s quote and this report by contributor Anna Haynes indicate, pro-am methods have the potential to breathe new life into journalism, a vote of confidence for news sites reaching out towards user-generated content. Users spread out all over the Web can, no doubt, make substantial contributions to reporting a story.
Nevertheless, Rosen seems wary of calling Assignment Zero and completely unhindered success. The project may have paved the way for pro-am journalism, but the potential has yet to be fully unleashed.
For more information, see Assignment Zero’s website.
Source: Wired
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There's gotta be an idea there somewhere. A news product that combines the broad and deep expertise that is drawn by Wikipedia with the management and editing of a journalist seems like a real solution. The evolution of revenue models in this area will also be interesting to watch. Maybe paid "pro's" vs. unpaid "am's" is a bit too black and white. It is remarkable how much news the public is willing to provide for free. But maybe some of the better am's will need to be paid something, making them a new type of freelancer. (Steve Boriss, TheFutureofNews.com)