Last night the CBC lead with a piece (CBC on You Tube) on how politics may be changed on PEI.
I suspect that blogging may have a larger and earlier impact here on PEI than federally or in the US.
Why? Because we are so small and tight any way. Influencing a few hundred people can change everything.
The articulate now have a voice that affects the Island. The blogosphere will flow back and forth with the mainstream media and affect everyone -as we see in this one report. The future as I see it - is a flow between the two that amplify both.
People who have something to say will now be able to say it.
If your response as a politician is to try and spin or to dodge - you will look ridiculous in public - some thing that no Islander wants.
"I promise more money for schools" will be countered with an active debate as to how this may help our kids really.
"I am going to make government more accountable" will tag the politician with more scrutiny than they had ever dreamed of. See how Stephen Pate has captured these moments of exposure.
"I did not say or mean that" will be followed by video of you saying it. Here is a crushing video of Senator John McCain showing his inconsistencies.
There will be no hiding place. No way to stonewall. No way to speak for an hour and say nothing. No simple answers to complex problems.
I look forward also to the one hour news at the CBC - if the CBC connect to the emerging sources in the blogosphere then it will also be able to punch way above its staffing weight. There are many citizen journalists in the wings. Here is how Minnesota Public radio is working with their public now:
Ever since entering journalism, I have delighted in finding the hidden story or fact or source that no other reporter had. So I cultivated sources, did endless research and took every opportunity to talk with strangers. That’s how I got my very best stories. At Minnesota Public Radio, we’ve found a way to have those sources and stories come to us.
Seventeen thousand people, at last count, have volunteered to share what they know about their communities, their work and their lives to help us find and tell important stories. Many have given us leads we might never have found. Our network of public sources continues to grow (by roughly 1,000 a month) and so does its contribution to our coverage.
In the past few weeks, reporters here and at our American Public Media programs in Los Angeles have used these sources for stories on crime in Minneapolis, obstacles faced by women entrepreneurs, advances in green architecture, rising middle-class insecurity, and religion at the office. We also met with 70 people, many of them undocumented workers, for our continuing coverage of immigration issues.
We call our approach Public Insight Journalism®, or PIJ, because we seek to tap the knowledge and insight of those in the public to make our coverage stronger and more relevant.
This approach appears to fit the rule of the emerging natural alternative:-
Inexpensive tools (In any field) plus web support (Marketing, sales, Logistics etc) aggregated inside a Trusted Space with millions of participants acting as both consumers and suppliers = a much better system for all.
Here is how the BBC in Manchester are bringing the bloggers into the local newsroom.
They have gone into the local community (This is regional BBC) and found the best bloggers. They have met with them several times. Beer has been drunk. They have an offer for them. If they want to be picked up in this space by the host, they have access to a wide range of training - first of all about what is the BBC way for journalism ethics etc and secondly they offer all sorts of technical training. If you want to make a better video - we will help you etc.
All keep their own blogs but offer an RSS feed. There is a static hosted BBC site that filters this content. When the host is running with a story, the Host will not run a full story from any source but will use a number of excerpts as most bloggers do now. So the etiquette of the 'sphere applies and the work of finding material mainly defaults mainly to the aggregator. The material includes of course, text, stills, video and music. The offer includes help in all areas. So not only does this build community but also competency.
This is how I and many follow the debate in Public radio or any field right now. As I find better voices either myself or via friends - I add them. The bloggers filter, the Host filters the result = high quality community participation.
The hosts job - to add context - to make linkages - to select talent - to grow talent - Sound familiar? They are on course to attract the best talent in their community and to showcase it in the least expensive way. They are on course to open up many many communities. You can see how for instance a gardening community, a music community any kind of community of either place or interest can be accommodated. All the other Grails about diversity can be accommodated as can the paradox between place and interest. Above all this is very inexpensive. Any of us could set up such a space.
I am encouraged. Good people, with good ideas will blossom. The quality of public debate and hence of public life will improve. The individual quality of politicians will improve as those that are not real and who cannot engage will be replaced in all parties by those than can.
Most importantly, we may actually shift the political agenda to those vitally important areas such as the protection and restoration of our biosphere, real health, real human development and real wealth.
It's going to be "Interesting Times" Interested - then see the research in the follow on. From a study funded by the Ford Foundation
Citizen Media: Fad or the Future of News?
The rise and prospects of hyperlocal journalism
Introduction
By Jan Schaffer
J-Lab has been funding citizen media start-ups with micro-grants for two years now. We’ve seen how quickly committed founders can build momentum and gain traction in their communities. The findings in this report were less of a surprise and more of an affirmation of what we had started to see.
We agree with the 98% of the respondents in our web survey who said that the emergence of local news web sites with content built from community members is “a good thing” - although it may not all be “journalism,” the kinds of finished stories you see in a newspaper. Because of that, we prefer the term “citizen media,” although we use that term interchangeably with “citizen journalism” in this report. Nearly 80% of the respondents to our web survey considered the information on their sites to be “journalism.”
This report focuses specifically on micro-local community news sites that contain content generated by users. When we started this research in the spring of 2006, we were able to identify about 500 citizen media sites. As we issue this report, we have been able to identify several hundred more and will soon catalogue them on a new web site, the Knight Citizen News Network (www.kcnn.org), supported by the Knight Foundation.
More impressive than the numbers, though, is the impact these sites are having on their communities. With limited readership and very little revenue, 73% of the respondents pronounced their sites to be a “success.’’ Why? Because they have watchdogged local government, provided news that couldn’t otherwise be had, nudged local media to improve, helped their community solve problems, even, to a degree, increased voter turnout and the number of candidates running for office.
This study takes an early snapshot of a very robust development. We interviewed 31 site operators in-depth, and we fielded a 60-question online survey. Not all 191 respondents could, or did, answer every question, but they poured out their hearts in open-ended responses. Their resolve to continue, often on their own dimes, was palpable.
Our key takeaways:
- Citizen media is emerging as a form of bridge media, linking traditional media with forms of civic participation.
- No one size fits all; there are many models.
- Instead of being comprehensive sources of news, sites are forming as fusions of news and schmooze.
- Most citizen sites don’t use traditional metrics - unique visitors, page views or revenues - to measure their success.
- Success is often defined as impact on their community.
- Half of our respondents said their sites don’t need to make money to continue.
- Yet there are new kinds of media companies starting to emerge.
- There is a high degree of optimism that citizen news sites are here to stay.
- Finding ways to attract more contributors and some operating support are major challenges.
We think citizen media sites will become an enduring part of the emerging newscape. While we think many individual sites will collapse as their founders burn out, others will arise to take their place.
With this study, we urge those who can help build capacity in this arena to pay attention. Legacy media companies: Think about partnering - and even supporting - successful sites, not competing with them. Journalism schools: Pursue the possibilities of citizen media sites as learning laboratories. Community foundations: Be alert to real possibilities for building community capacity.
Our deep thanks to the Ford Foundation and to former program director Jon Funabiki, whose curiosity launched this project. Please read on ...
