Collaboration Celebration!

There is no denying the importance that online communities have served. IReport.com is apart of CNN which encourages citizen journalists to contribute stories. The site uses the phrase “Unedited. Unfiltered. News” –the stories posted by ordinary citizens are raw. They are not edited or checked by CNN before they are posted. CNN uses many of these posts on air for the rest of the public. I think this is a great testament to the power of citizen media. Whether or not you see citizen journalists as real journalists or not, the truth of the matter is mainstream media is taking note of the great power citizen journalists/media has and its effects on not only getting people’s attention but making real change in society. Take Jena 6 for example. This was a story that had been going on for a couple months before it was presented to the mass public. This story which took place in a remote small town in Louisiana was able to be brought to the forefront of news media because of citizen media. It makes me think, if it were not for online communities would we have even known about the Jena 6 situation? One of the things I find most appealing about citizen journalists is that it puts the power in citizens’ hands. Instead of being dictated by mainstream media what news is most important, citizens can choose what they believe needs coverage. I came across a website called spot.us. The purpose of the site is to have “community funded reporting”. How it works is citizen journalists can hirer professional journalists to investigate stories that are important but are overlooked in mainstream media. I find this grassroots website especially significant because it represents a shift in how we find and report news to a collaboration of independent reporters, community members and news organizations.