Day 98 - Truemers: Breaking news and rumours

Truemers are what some call news from citizen journalists. At the official website, the slogan is, "Don't like the news? Then change it." Keeping in step with an overall trend in information and news gathering, nowpublic.com is a place to get the inside track on people and events in the world of the web. It features interviews, new ventures, deals, tweets, who’s talking about who, the revolving door, conferences and controversies – you can find a little bit of everything there. And, if you want to, you can get in on the act.

Have you got news, something rumored that you think is true? Then, you've got a "truemor." NowPublic is a participatory news network mobilizing regular citizens into an army of reporters on a mission to cover the events that define our world. In just 12 months, the website has taken off. This Vancouver-based firm became one of the fastest growing news organizations in the world this year. It now has thousands of reporters in over 140 countries.

During Hurricane Katrina, NowPublic had more reporters in the affected area than most news organizations have on their entire staff. In 2007, TIME Magazine named NowPublic one of the "50 Coolest Websites" and in 2009, the site was nominated for an Emmy for Advanced Technology. Anyone can get published at nowpublic.com. Join the site or not, post a news item and "tag" it "Truemors" to be a featured reporter.

When you connect with NowPublic's network of writers, editors, photographers and videographers, the theory is that consumers gain more control, making news happen on their terms - worldwide.

What do you think? Is just anyone qualified to "make" news or would the real reporting be better left to trained professionals? One thing is for sure, print journalism is never going to be the same.

Day 94 - Are we all "Citizen Journalists" today?

Watch out world! YouTube just made it even easier for anyone with a camera phone to turn anyone's behavior -- be it mundane or sensational -- into news.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the world's top provider of Internet video has now launched YouTube Direct, where TV and online news editors can obtain video from the so-called "citizen journalists" -- even requesting that specific video be shot by amateur attention seekers.

Part of this effort may be aimed at gaining celebrity footage, but not entirely, of course. Many news outlets will be seeking disaster footage, for example, or maybe a snippet of some rowdy behavior at the next political town hall.

Any news organization seeking footage can announce it in a variety of ways, including the use of call-out videos posted at YouTube. When a YouTube user has video he or she thinks will interest the mainstream media, YouTube Direct will make it easier for professional editors, producers and paid journalists to contact them.

The head of news and politics at YouTube says that reputable news organizations will want to verify any content they use, so this is not an invitation for everyone to grab their camera phones and catch friends and neighbors in embarrassing moments.

YouTube Direct isn't a play for greater earnings -- for YouTube or its users, according to an official spokesperson. There is no payment for video provided by citizens. The incentive for people to upload great video (hopefully) is the recognition the citizen reporters may receive through airtime on legitimate news. Currently testing the service are: the Huffington Post, NPR, Politico, the San Francisco Chronicle and at least two Boston TV stations.

In a YouTube blog post, links are provided to examples of newsworthy user-generated video: presidential candidate George Allen's "Macaca" reference, video of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in China, and a teacher screaming then slapping an autistic student.

With print (newspapers) continuing to falter and online media rising to the forefront, everyone appears to be a journalist these days. As a journalism and mass communications grad student, I hope I can remain open minded. There is a big difference between capturing a moment on video for upload to YouTube, and investigating, researching and writing genuinely informative news for publication. The professional journalist is still viable in the modern world, and perhaps more valuable than ever. We are simply experiencing growing pains as our industry changes. It appears the Information Era is turning into the "Always On" Era.

Is your camera phone ready? Lights, camera....action!

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, YouTube.