There is much hand wringing on the part of classically-trained reporters and publishers now confronted with the notion of being complimented – replaced? - by citizens wielding camera phones who voluntarily submit multimedia content to newsgathering operations.

Mainstream media outlets everywhere are struggling to integrate audience participation into their existing products.  But better to struggle than ignore the crescendo of audience participation altogether, to fail to integrate it into existing operations. Such folly will surely be to the (economic) detriment of any newsgathering organisation – and its readers.

The Knight Citizen News Network seeks to educate skeptics and enthusiasts alike in the art of citizen journalism.

Launched at the end of March, 2007, this extensive resource bank was funded by the Knight Foundation and developed by Amy Gahran and Adam Glenn of I, Reporter and by Dan Gillmore from the Center for Citizen Media.

The site includes enough worthwhile, free information for anyone to educate himself about citizen journalism – from a theoretical and practical standpoint. Yes, there are the typical link lists to send you trawling across the web, but of more interest are extensive, PDF’d textbooks and mash-up maps showing the location of strong citizen journalism projects in the United States. There are also tipsheets and toolboxes full of easy-to-implement ideas. The amount of original, exclusive content is strong.

At the moment, much of the content is static. So truly, the site’s function is more that of a library. Yet there is certainly enough up-to-date information to keep any new media buff happy – and learning – until the next update.

There is information about macro topics, such as the ins and outs of comment moderation, discussed in reports like Gahran’s “Twelve Tips for Growing Positive Communities Online.”

There’s information for publisher types, like a recent Ford Foundation report, which gives insights into the pros and cons of integrating citizen journalism into newsgathering operations.

In that report and elsewhere on the site, the idea of recognizing best practice is paramount. For example, innovative citizen journalism sites are breezily andalyised and linked.

Going forward, it would be nice for the News Network to add a European perspective – mention some best practices in Europe. Its also imperative for such a site to begin adding new content on a regular basis – if it wants to stay relevant, anyway.

But for this moment, this site could be the turning point for any old-world media professional interested in merging onto the two-way street that is citizen journalism.

K. Clore

Published: September 26, 2007