CBS to give citizen journalists, public means to share content on local Web sites

[couryhouse]

CBS to give citizen journalists, public means to share content on local Web sites
May 4, 2007 9:00 AM



Aspiring citizen journalists and the public at large will have a new avenue to submit video, audio and text to the Web sites of local CBS TV stations as the result of a new CBS Digital Media Group initiative.

read the whole article at http://broadcastengineering.com/news/cbs-citizen-journalist-public-means-0504/


The world as we know it is changing......

[Baltimore Shooter]

The world as we know it is changing......


The thing you have to remember is, it's only a fad. Just like phone booth stuffing was a fad 50 years ago. Women smoking cigars were all the rage 10 years ago and 'flash mobs' were a fad in 2000. Just a fad that will quickly fade.

Warren

[Schett]

Don't be surprised if you see this at a station near you. I know my station is working very hard to drive viewers to their web site. During severe weather, we are begging people to send us photos of damage.

Management is not thinking about the quality of their product. They want to be able to say they are first on the scene. People are becoming accustomed to low quality video. Thanks to YouTube and Myspace.

[couryhouse]

often times if you can get a group working on project a loyal -cult-like- effect takes place.

[Dave Putnam]

ABC is getting into the citizen journalist (CJ) game too.
link (http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2877995)
(My apologies for the :15 second ad at the top.)

I've felt all along that Abraham Zapruder (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Zapruder) paved the way for today's CJ. The availability, price and quality of today's cameras and the odds of a citizen shooting a newsworthy event has increased exponentially and this trend will no doubt continue to gain speed.

This isn't some sort of "fad" and it isn't a herald of the demise of the craft. This train has been coming down the tracks for some time. Any good news-gathering organization knows this. Nothing is going to replace solid journalism and good gum shoe reporting. In turn, any good operation isn't going to turn their back on compelling video, pictures, or descriptions from eyewitnesses.

[cameradog]

I can't wait for the pranksters to really get a hold of this. Imagine all the doctored photos of "news" events that will end up published as "citizen journalism."

Hell, now might be the time to set up an advertising company that specializes in fake amateur news photos. You could easily shoot pictures of "news" events, creatively including product placement in the shots or simply photoshopping it in. You'd have to trade in your ethics, but I suspect there's a lot of money to be made there.

[Michaelrosenblum]

Yes, well free presses are messy. They are supposed to be. We have had a print free press filled with 'Citizen Journalism' for years and we have learned how to deal with it pretty well. When you walk into a supermarket and see a tabloid with the headline screaming 500 Pound Boy Found On Mars, you don't believe it and you don't question the validity of a 'free press'. You don't care. You process it as crap immediately and move on. The same will happen with video eventually.

[Freddie Mercury]

You didn't hear? The Martian boy is down to 190 thanks to TrimSpa. Sadly, that's only because the gravity there is 38% of that on Earth.

That joke aside, TV news generally tries to make clear its difference from tabloid papers and the corresponding broadcast shows. That means we have to discriminate to some degree when deciding what we should air, not just on the quality but its validity.

Someone can send you pix of severe weather damage that are not from your area or didn't happen when they say it did. Video can be staged. Cameradog is right to believe that people will use this as a means to push agendas, pull pranks or even promote products, just like is done by callers to radio shows.

The point is it may be messy, but we don't have to be sloppy.

[Michaelrosenblum]

I agree. As with print there has to be some degree of editorial control and branding becomes even more important. You trust as submission from a 'citizen contributor' (say the Chairman of Exxon who writes a piece) in The Wall Street Journal more than you do on some blog from nowhere. Better publications vet the validity of outside submissions. Same will prove true in video.

[patssle]

You can also provide the means for something to get their 15-minutes of fame if they think their submitted story has a chance to make it on TV. People do stupid things to get noticed.

The VT shooter accomplished it.

[Land Rover]

ABC News as the same thing on their website wih a short instructional video on how to send it in. He even tells the "citizen journalist" to be in a well-lit and quiet area.