There's a Whole CitJ World Out There!

To many North Americans, citizen journalism (citJ) looks new. In fact, it's been around for a long time -- centuries, even. Furthermore, most of the best current citJ work is being created by and for people who don't live in the US.

Here's what I mean...

First of all, if you haven't done so already, check out OhMyNews. This venue focuses on news for and about South Korea. Its content is 100% citizen journalism -- staff editors work with citizen reporters to craft coverage. OhMyNews was founded in Feb. 2000 and since then it's grown to become a significant presence in the international media landscape.

In fact, this week (June 23-26) OhMyNews is holding the 2005 International Citizen Reporters' Forum in Seoul. It sounds like a fabulous conference, I wish I could go. I'll try to make the next one.

...If you haven't heard of OhMyNews, I hate to say it but that might well be because you're American. Sadly, we Americans often tend to ignore international news that doesn't feature Americans in the headline. Still, if you're interested in citJ, OhMyNews is definitely required reading.

Global Voices is another indispensible citJ resource. Every day it showcases citizen journalism from around the world. It's a nonprofit media project, sponsored by and launched from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School.

And, of course, there's the Independent Media Center -- which publishes independently produced content (including much citizen journalism) from around the world in eight languages.

...Yes, much IMC content is produced by and for activists (environmental, political, economic justice, human rights, etc.) However, activists are people too. Like any community, they have unique and valid needs for information and context. They are entitled to create their own journalism using their own resources. It's true that the quality of IMC news varies widely (some of it is frankly unintelligible). But reporting and editorial skills can always be improved, and anyone can use them well.

Of course, let's not forget that that back when newspapers first began, they were mainly citizen journalism. There were no "news organizations" as such -- but that didn't stop the news. CitJ has deep roots, indeed.