mapjd@lcc

"Citizen journalism." It's one of the hottest buzzwords in the news business these days. Many news executives are probably thinking about implementing some sort of citizen-journalism initiative; a small but growing number have already done so. But there's plenty of confusion about citizen journalism. What exactly is it? Is this something that's going to be essential to the future prosperity of news companies?

"A Most Useful Definition of Citizen Journalism It's mine, but it should be yours. Can we take the quote marks off now? Can we remove the "so-called" from in front? When the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another, that's citizen journalism. There are other definitions, but they will have to be discussed in the comments."

"The End of Newspapers: Reality and Information" Looking at the so-called death of newspapers from the angle of authenticity and reliability of photojournalistic images.

"Do you ever shut down your computer at the end of the week, and all of the sudden it hits you: You haven't kept up with your social sites for the week.twitter-logo With less than 7 percent of all Twitter users using it on a regular basis, it can be a little frustrating knowing you have a tool ready to help grow your business, yet unsure of how to truly use it. Just like blogging, Twitter takes work. But there are ways you can incorporate it into your photography business, and have it start working for you."

An article by Christopher Michel on the Military.com website, mentioning amongst other things, the first pictures released of Saddam Hussein's capture.

This is an article of particular interest to the Citizen Photojournalism project. Writer Alissa Quart writes for the Columbia Journalism review amongst others, and in this article, she considers the impact of citizen photojournalism on agencies and professional photojournalism in general.

I must say that during last Sunday's riots in the Old CIty of Jerusalem the citizen journalists outnumbered those who were rioting . At least 6 photographers complained about their difficulties of capturing an image without someone sticking a cell phone or other small camera into the frame . A Palestinian man poked his head of the entrance of his home and asked me to assist a Norwegian man who ran into his home to seek safety but was too afraid to leave the area and was trapped . I helped the man make his way down the alley that separated the masked Palestinian youths who were throwing stones towards the Israeli border police at the other end and told him to stick to my side where he would be more protected by the stone building along the way . This has happened a number of times during my coverage of the Palestinian Israeli conflict and in some ways hinders a photojournalist because they leave the scene to assist someone else , can endanger them further my walking in between lines however even the seasoned professionals have opted out of situations that risked their own safety .

"Unmasking Photo Opportunities, Cubistically In a 1994 photograph we see U.S. soldiers invading Haiti, lying on the airport tarmac pointing their rifles at unseen enemies. The heroic image supports the claim of the U.S. government that it is invading to support democracy, liberating a neighboring country from a dictatorship. The curious reader [of the future], however, might want to place the computer cursor on the image. Another photograph appears from beneath it; it is of the same scene but from another vantage point. U.S. soldiers are pointing their guns not at any potential enemy but at about a dozen photographers who, lined up in front of them, are photographing them. In fact, the photographers are the only ones doing any shooting."

Francesco Giusti lives and works in Rome, Italy. He recently won 1st Prize in the Viewbook Photostory competition for his documentary series, SAPE. Of this series, he says, 'In Congo-Brazzaville SAPE is an old passion that has never stopped, not even during war years. At the arrival of the French in Congo at the beginning of 9oo, the myth of elegance was born among young people working for the settlers. In 1922, Andre Grenard Matsoua, well-known for his resistance to the settlers, was the first Congolese to come back from Paris well dressed like a true French "Monsieur", and greatly admired by all his fellow citizens. The members of the SAPE take a touch of glamor into their humble environment with their refined style and faultless clothes. Everyone has his own repertory of gestures, marking him from all the others.

"A look at how social media can be used to extend stories and start conversations. For more visit http://WorkBookProject.com"

"Twittering the News: The emergence of ambient journalism My paper looks at new para-journalism forms such as micro-blogging as "awareness systems". For this I have drawn from literature on new communications technologies in computer science to suggest that these broad, asynchronous, lightweight and always-on systems are enabling citizens to maintain a mental model of news and events around them, giving rise to awareness systems that paper describes as ambient journalism."

"The Kaieteur News, one of Guyana's daily newspapers, is notorious for publishing explicit front-page photographs of crime scenes and murder victims, an editorial policy that has roused controversy in the past. But the gruesome photo and accompanying report that led the paper's edition of Saturday 31 October, 2009, triggered widespread outrage not at the Kaieteur News editors but at the Guyana Police Force:"

interesting piece on how social networks helped build an audience for multimedia "It used to be so simple: Whether I needed to make my way through a police roadblock or explain to curious neighbors why I was taking pictures on their block, barking just two words usually did the trick: "Daily News!" In one breath, the transaction was complete. I had told them something about the authority behind my presence, and at the same time let them know exactly where they'd find my photos-in the next day's paper. I spent the better part of 17 years with the Philadelphia Daily News as a staff photographer and, eventually, the newsroom's first video journalist. Then, 10 months after taking a buyout, I found myself unable to respond to a local deli clerk's simple question: "What do you do for a living?""

"There are times when technological change catches up with an idea. Now is such a moment, as social media transform how people receive and share news and information. Just a few years back the notion of journalism being a conversation, not a lecture, wasn't embraced widely in an industry content to transmit what reporters learned to audiences expected to consume it. Comfort with that notion grew as online comments and live chats assumed a role that Letters to the Editor once held on their own, albeit with greater anonymity and often less civility. Then, from the "audience" spilled forth blogs and photos, videos and tweets. Soon, the words "citizen" and "journalist" were joined in a marriage brokered by technology and nurtured by convenience as news organizations shed staff yet still needed to produce "content.""

"Two different organizations in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories are using video tools to help both Arabic and Jewish youth to understand the conflict and bridge gaps between them, creating spaces for interaction and communication where they can share their dreams, concerns and thoughts regarding the complex situation they live in."

"Journalists everywhere are starting blogs and entering the next phase in the history of journalism. Whether you call it Journalism 2.0, or a shift in media consciousness. It's pretty clear, the game has completely transformed. Transformation for the Better As the future of journalism unfolds, we're beginning to see just how beneficial this shift is for the writers out there. 1. We can interact directly with our audience. 2. We can write for a small audience, about what we care about. 3. We can profit directly, and immediately, from our writing. 4. We can build a reputation for ourselves, outside of an institution. The challenge is that journalists have to overcome a radical shift in thinking: whereas in the past we just concentrated in writing, and our business did all of our marketing and publishing. Us journalists of the future have to become a one-man journalistic machine. We have to take our writing from the idea to the audience all by ourselves. In blogging, there are a lot of things you need to consider to hit that mark of success. Suddenly, it isn't as easy to just write and publish blog posts! Know these most important tasks you need to do for your blog:"

video on using pb wiki

"As I'm getting more and more into using Google Wave, I'm coming to appreciate its collaborative value. The only way that I'm using it right now is as follows: I come up with an idea. I want another opinion about the idea. I write it up in Wave. I share it with others and get them to collaborate with me. "

"You've probably heard people talk about Google Wave (Google Wave) being a game-changer, a disruptive product, or maybe even as an email killer. But while keywords and phrases like these grab people's attention, they don't explain why or how Google Wave could be a paradigm-shifter. In this article, we explore these questions by highlighting some of Google Wave's most unique and promising features. By exploring these features, we can better understand the potential of this new technology."

Is it really possible to make money as a citizen photojournalist? It's a question that must have passed through the mind of every wannabe news photographer. Anyone can now earn money from stock photography. Persuasion, a portfolio and word-of-mouth can bring in occasional event commissions. But photojournalism? That means selling to news editors, and when it comes to buyers, they're perhaps the pickiest bunch of all.