Landmark moments in citizen journalism
Monday, March 30, 2009
Depending on whom you ask, citizen journalism is either pushing journalism forward or is unaccountable vigilantism. Either way, it is shaping the way we consume our news.
Surely ordinary citizens were documenting and discussing news events before the advent of the internet but what separates citizen journalism from pure observation is the use of the net as an avenue to either aid or circumvent traditional media outlets and spread the news independently. Average Joes can take their own photos, record their own video and recount a story through blogs or other social media, often more quickly than a media organization can begin to report and in a more organic way than is usually presented by mainstream media.
The following is a timeline of events in which ordinary citizens shaped the news, followed by an analog description of each landmark moment.
A common complaint about mainstream media is that readers/viewers are expected to believe everything they are told without verifying information for themselves. After Dan Rather presented supposedly authenticated documents on 60 Minutes that impugned President George W. Bush's service in the Air National Guard, many bloggers weren't buying it. Average Joes pointed out that the purportedly circa 1973 typewritten memos that were presented on CBS were likely written in a modern, computer-based font. The claims of authenticity were later retracted and several of those involved with the story were fired.
The coverage of the deadly tsunami that rocked Southeast Asia was remarkable not only for its images of the devastation captured by those in affected areas, but also for social media's role in providing relief during the aftermath. Tourists who otherwise would have been capturing the beauty of area beaches instead captured the tsunami as it landed, providing firsthand accounts that were circulated around the globe. Blogs and groups on social networks like Facebook were also quickly established to provide information to both victims and the rest of the world.
News of the bombing that killed 52 people and injured more than 770 was heightened by videos and photos taken with cell phones by passengers aboard the train during the attacks. Usually traditional news stories are shot from behind the police tape, often with a wide shot that doesn't reveal the telling details of the situation. But the user submitted photos and video that appeared shortly after the explosions were vividly real and told the story of the crime in a way traditional media never could.
The cell phone video shot by Virginia Tech student Jamal Albarghouti was not only an alarming encapsulation of the shooting that left 32 dead and 23 wounded, it was also viewed by millions of people on CNN and on YouTube. News of the shooting was disseminated first through text messages and blogs to those who were unaware about what was happening on campus. Some questioned whether the student-shot video was actually journalism, but as we've seen from previous examples, despite its amateurish nature it no doubt contributed to how others received the story.
In the face of the government's violent reaction to anti-government protests, many Burmese turned to the internet to alert the world to the violence occurring in the remote country. Grainy video and photos shot on mobile phones were circulated around the world and the country's bloggers posted first and second hand accounts of the bloody struggle. The Burmese government worked quickly to shut down internet access, but not before the world was exposed to the tragic events.
The terrorist attacks on Mumbai and the subsequent reports on Twitter, Flickr and elsewhere raised ethical questions: do such immediate reports actually endanger the lives of others? Some of the thought confirmed attack sites were later revealed to be unconfirmed rumors and TV networks were condemned for revealing the possible location of those refugees still in harm's way.
Local and national TV stations and newspapers did an adequate job of covering the destructive fires that blackened much of California, but it was the citizen journalists who uploaded video to YouTube, posted Twitter updates and submitted amateur media to news stations that really provided the up-to-the-minute coverage many fire victims were so desperately seeking.
Two of the biggest gotcha quotes of the 2008 U.S. presidential election season — Obama's reference to "bitter" small-town Americans who "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them" and Bill Clinton's reaction to Vanity Fair writer Todd Purdum, calling him "slimy" and "dishonest" were documented by an online journalist with no ties to a mainstream news organization. Mayhill Fowler, a citizen journalist reporting for the Huffington Post's Off the Bus news project, captured the off-the-cuff moments with a handheld recorder and a little persistence.
Every election season there are a number of polls that aim predict the outcome of every imaginable political race. Superblogger Markos Moulitsas Zúniga decided he wanted his own. Kos set out to create nonpartisan polls powered by the polling firm Research 2000, inherently shirking mainstream media. In an ironic twist, the mainstream media many times made reference to the Daily Kos alongside long established polls.
News of the New Years Day shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant by a BART police officer ignited a community after the dramatic video captured by witnesses was posted to YouTube. Soon thereafter local news stations were using the amateur footage when no other video was available. Subsequent protests — some peaceful, some violent — were photographed and posted to Flickr, giving the world insight on what otherwise may have been a local story.
When U.S. Airways Flight 1549 crash-landed in the Hudson River it was for some news organizations the first mention of Twitter, or more specifically Janis Kruns' tweet and photo of the 155 passengers being rescued from the downed aircraft. While traditional news orgs quickly picked up the story, they still lagged behind those citizens empowered by social media who broke the story first.
A big thank you to the Twitterverse for helping craft this post. For more on the history of citizen journalism, check out this collection of Nieman Lab reports. Timeline created with Dipity; find out more about the timeline creator here.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• Screw the system. Publish your own content!
• Why aren't all journalists "citizen" journalists?
• Citizen Journalism: Speak up and get paid for it
Surely ordinary citizens were documenting and discussing news events before the advent of the internet but what separates citizen journalism from pure observation is the use of the net as an avenue to either aid or circumvent traditional media outlets and spread the news independently. Average Joes can take their own photos, record their own video and recount a story through blogs or other social media, often more quickly than a media organization can begin to report and in a more organic way than is usually presented by mainstream media.
The following is a timeline of events in which ordinary citizens shaped the news, followed by an analog description of each landmark moment.
Rathergate, September 8, 2004
A common complaint about mainstream media is that readers/viewers are expected to believe everything they are told without verifying information for themselves. After Dan Rather presented supposedly authenticated documents on 60 Minutes that impugned President George W. Bush's service in the Air National Guard, many bloggers weren't buying it. Average Joes pointed out that the purportedly circa 1973 typewritten memos that were presented on CBS were likely written in a modern, computer-based font. The claims of authenticity were later retracted and several of those involved with the story were fired.
Indian Ocean tsunami, December 26, 2004
The coverage of the deadly tsunami that rocked Southeast Asia was remarkable not only for its images of the devastation captured by those in affected areas, but also for social media's role in providing relief during the aftermath. Tourists who otherwise would have been capturing the beauty of area beaches instead captured the tsunami as it landed, providing firsthand accounts that were circulated around the globe. Blogs and groups on social networks like Facebook were also quickly established to provide information to both victims and the rest of the world.
London 7/7 Tube bombings, July 7, 2005
News of the bombing that killed 52 people and injured more than 770 was heightened by videos and photos taken with cell phones by passengers aboard the train during the attacks. Usually traditional news stories are shot from behind the police tape, often with a wide shot that doesn't reveal the telling details of the situation. But the user submitted photos and video that appeared shortly after the explosions were vividly real and told the story of the crime in a way traditional media never could.
Virginia Tech massacre, April 16, 2007
The cell phone video shot by Virginia Tech student Jamal Albarghouti was not only an alarming encapsulation of the shooting that left 32 dead and 23 wounded, it was also viewed by millions of people on CNN and on YouTube. News of the shooting was disseminated first through text messages and blogs to those who were unaware about what was happening on campus. Some questioned whether the student-shot video was actually journalism, but as we've seen from previous examples, despite its amateurish nature it no doubt contributed to how others received the story.
Protests in Burma, Fall 2007
In the face of the government's violent reaction to anti-government protests, many Burmese turned to the internet to alert the world to the violence occurring in the remote country. Grainy video and photos shot on mobile phones were circulated around the world and the country's bloggers posted first and second hand accounts of the bloody struggle. The Burmese government worked quickly to shut down internet access, but not before the world was exposed to the tragic events.
Mumbai attacks, November 26-29, 2008
The terrorist attacks on Mumbai and the subsequent reports on Twitter, Flickr and elsewhere raised ethical questions: do such immediate reports actually endanger the lives of others? Some of the thought confirmed attack sites were later revealed to be unconfirmed rumors and TV networks were condemned for revealing the possible location of those refugees still in harm's way.
California fires, 2007
Local and national TV stations and newspapers did an adequate job of covering the destructive fires that blackened much of California, but it was the citizen journalists who uploaded video to YouTube, posted Twitter updates and submitted amateur media to news stations that really provided the up-to-the-minute coverage many fire victims were so desperately seeking.
Mayhill Fowler, 2008
Two of the biggest gotcha quotes of the 2008 U.S. presidential election season — Obama's reference to "bitter" small-town Americans who "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them" and Bill Clinton's reaction to Vanity Fair writer Todd Purdum, calling him "slimy" and "dishonest" were documented by an online journalist with no ties to a mainstream news organization. Mayhill Fowler, a citizen journalist reporting for the Huffington Post's Off the Bus news project, captured the off-the-cuff moments with a handheld recorder and a little persistence.Daily Kos polling, 2008
Every election season there are a number of polls that aim predict the outcome of every imaginable political race. Superblogger Markos Moulitsas Zúniga decided he wanted his own. Kos set out to create nonpartisan polls powered by the polling firm Research 2000, inherently shirking mainstream media. In an ironic twist, the mainstream media many times made reference to the Daily Kos alongside long established polls.
Oscar Grant, January 1, 2009
News of the New Years Day shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant by a BART police officer ignited a community after the dramatic video captured by witnesses was posted to YouTube. Soon thereafter local news stations were using the amateur footage when no other video was available. Subsequent protests — some peaceful, some violent — were photographed and posted to Flickr, giving the world insight on what otherwise may have been a local story.
Hudson River plane crash, January 15, 2009
When U.S. Airways Flight 1549 crash-landed in the Hudson River it was for some news organizations the first mention of Twitter, or more specifically Janis Kruns' tweet and photo of the 155 passengers being rescued from the downed aircraft. While traditional news orgs quickly picked up the story, they still lagged behind those citizens empowered by social media who broke the story first.A big thank you to the Twitterverse for helping craft this post. For more on the history of citizen journalism, check out this collection of Nieman Lab reports. Timeline created with Dipity; find out more about the timeline creator here.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• Screw the system. Publish your own content!
• Why aren't all journalists "citizen" journalists?
• Citizen Journalism: Speak up and get paid for it
Labels: citizen journalism, social networking
5 Reasons you should create a wiki now
Monday, February 16, 2009
The wiki may be the most flexible, yet underrated tool in modern newsrooms. A collaborative system for sharing news and information has an infinite number of uses, yet many fail to use wikis in a journalism context. No more excuses. Here are a few reasons you should create a wiki right now:
1. Share contacts
Gone are the days of the bulky Rolodex or the dusty clip files. The best way to keep track of sources is to create a wiki that anyone in the newsroom can access. The wiki can store simple information such as phone numbers or email addresses, but also can be a place to collect notes on each individual: what they know, who interviewed them before, what time they are usually available, etc. It's either that or continue to get calls at 4 a.m. asking for your source's telephone number.
2. Gather information from your audience
Because a reporter never knows everything about a subject, chances are there is a reader or viewer who knows something that could greatly enhance a story. Public wikis are a great way to aggregate information from the people who know the subject matter best and is perhaps the best use of a wiki in today's modern era of journalism.
For example, The Globe and Mail uses its Public Policy Wiki to get suggestions from readers about public policy issues. Citizens of North East England can use Wiki North East, hosted by ncjMedia, to share news on the area.
Wikis don't have to solely serve the newsgathering process either. Entertainment Weekly has its own Harry Potter and Heroes wikis where users can share details about the entertainment franchises.
3. Keep track of important dates
Never miss an important city council meeting or press conference when you add the event to a newsroom-wide wiki. A calendar wiki can also be used to remember recurring events such as festivals and holidays or to catalog awareness months such as Breast Cancer Awareness Month or International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Of course, a wiki isn't the only way to keep track of upcoming events. Consider using collaborative calendar tools like Google Calendar.
4. Share multimedia tools and tutorials
Many news organizations are training their staff in the latest multimedia techniques, but it's usually a one-shot deal. Reporters are then left to fend for themselves armed only with their notes. A wiki is a great one-stop destination for sharing notes on multimedia tutorials as well as general reporting tips.
If your newsroom doesn't have such a collaborative resource, try the Digital Research Tools Wiki, The Society for News Design's Tools for News and the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies' Directory of Learning Tools. All of the aforementioned wikis are publicly available and list tools that journalists can use to enhance the presentation of news online.
5. Build the big story
You know the story: the one that requires months of research and several staff reporters to create. Make life easier by sharing notes and details in one place that those involved can access at any time. A wiki can cut down on overlap and show everyone what has been done and what is left to do.
Now that you know why you should create a wiki, here's how to create one. Like most online technologies there are a number of free services for creating wikis. Some of the popular online solutions include PBWiki, WetPaint and Wikispaces. Those who wish to host a wiki on their own server should try MediaWiki (a comprehensive tutorial can be found here).
For more ways to create your own wiki, check out Mashable's list of wiki solutions. If you're still debating whether to create a wiki for your newsroom, read this post by Paul Bradshaw that weighs the pros and cons of creating a wiki.
Thanks to @robroc, @jenconnic, @StevenWalling and @starshine_diva for their help in creating this post.
1. Share contacts
Gone are the days of the bulky Rolodex or the dusty clip files. The best way to keep track of sources is to create a wiki that anyone in the newsroom can access. The wiki can store simple information such as phone numbers or email addresses, but also can be a place to collect notes on each individual: what they know, who interviewed them before, what time they are usually available, etc. It's either that or continue to get calls at 4 a.m. asking for your source's telephone number.
2. Gather information from your audience
Because a reporter never knows everything about a subject, chances are there is a reader or viewer who knows something that could greatly enhance a story. Public wikis are a great way to aggregate information from the people who know the subject matter best and is perhaps the best use of a wiki in today's modern era of journalism.
For example, The Globe and Mail uses its Public Policy Wiki to get suggestions from readers about public policy issues. Citizens of North East England can use Wiki North East, hosted by ncjMedia, to share news on the area.
Wikis don't have to solely serve the newsgathering process either. Entertainment Weekly has its own Harry Potter and Heroes wikis where users can share details about the entertainment franchises.
3. Keep track of important dates
Never miss an important city council meeting or press conference when you add the event to a newsroom-wide wiki. A calendar wiki can also be used to remember recurring events such as festivals and holidays or to catalog awareness months such as Breast Cancer Awareness Month or International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Of course, a wiki isn't the only way to keep track of upcoming events. Consider using collaborative calendar tools like Google Calendar.
4. Share multimedia tools and tutorials
Many news organizations are training their staff in the latest multimedia techniques, but it's usually a one-shot deal. Reporters are then left to fend for themselves armed only with their notes. A wiki is a great one-stop destination for sharing notes on multimedia tutorials as well as general reporting tips.
If your newsroom doesn't have such a collaborative resource, try the Digital Research Tools Wiki, The Society for News Design's Tools for News and the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies' Directory of Learning Tools. All of the aforementioned wikis are publicly available and list tools that journalists can use to enhance the presentation of news online.
5. Build the big story
You know the story: the one that requires months of research and several staff reporters to create. Make life easier by sharing notes and details in one place that those involved can access at any time. A wiki can cut down on overlap and show everyone what has been done and what is left to do.
Now that you know why you should create a wiki, here's how to create one. Like most online technologies there are a number of free services for creating wikis. Some of the popular online solutions include PBWiki, WetPaint and Wikispaces. Those who wish to host a wiki on their own server should try MediaWiki (a comprehensive tutorial can be found here).
For more ways to create your own wiki, check out Mashable's list of wiki solutions. If you're still debating whether to create a wiki for your newsroom, read this post by Paul Bradshaw that weighs the pros and cons of creating a wiki.
Thanks to @robroc, @jenconnic, @StevenWalling and @starshine_diva for their help in creating this post.
Labels: citizen journalism, wiki
Post-Inauguration Wrap Up: High-tech coverage of the tech president
Friday, January 23, 2009Photography
By now you've probably already seen CNN's mind-numbingly detailed photograph created from thousands of user-submitted photos and blended using Photosynth technology. But have you seen the following interactive image created by photographer David Bergman?
Bergman created the high-resolution image by combining over 200 images using Gigapan's stitching software (more on Gigapan here). The Associated Press also has an interactive, high-res image for users to play around with.
Leave it to the New York Times to take an already incredible technology one step further. In its interactive inauguration photo, users can click a name or hover over a person in the photo to identify who they are. The usual suspects, including senators and dignitaries, can be easily spotted.
The Washington Post takes a different approach by composing a mosaic created from thousands of photos shot by citizen journalists and staff photographers from both the Post and the Associated Press.
Sometimes a good photo is just a photo, no interactive whizbang required. The Big Picture has a great collection of inauguration day photos, including the now instantly recognizable satellite photo of crowds gathered to hear Barack Obama's inauguration speech (Click here for an explanation of how the estimated 1 million people in attendance were counted).
Speech/Word Analysis
After the inauguration, 50 million word clouds emerged, most created using Wordle, that analyzed Barack Obama's now historic speech. Once again, the New York Times took the word analysis concept to another level with "Inaugural Words: 1789 to the Present," a historical analysis of commonly recurring words used in presidential speeches, beginning with George Washington.
The real innovation, however, came from sites like ManyEyes, which visualized the speech as an interactive word tree, and Delve Networks which applied its audio search technology to extract not only the words that were spoken, but where they can be found in the address. Give the technology a spin by searching the video below for words like "America" or "hope."
Citizen Journalism
The Washington Post made use of its TimeSpace technology (previously covered here) to create a mapped record of inauguration photos and video. TimeSpace: Inauguration allows anyone to search through the geotagged coverage in a multi-layered interactive environment.
Twitter was a hotbed of exchanges about the excitement surrounding the inauguration and no one knows this better than FlowingData. To visualize the Twitter buzz surrounding the event, the site tracked positive responses to the inauguration all over the world in what, as it progresses, looks like fireworks. (Click image to view project)
To make sure now President Obama sticks to his more than 500 campaign promises, PolitiFact will be keeping tabs on his administration with the Obameter, a digital counter that lists each and every one and whether it has been fulfilled or not. So far Obama has kept seven and 14 more are still in the works.
And finally, proof that print ain't dead (yet). Click the image below to view the hundreds of newspapers around the world on which the inauguration of President Obama is front page news.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• 15 Ways to follow the 2008 election online
• Essential resources for panoramic photography
• 7 Eye-popping interactive timelines (and 3 ways to create one)
• Word cloud analysis of 2008 DNC Speeches
Labels: citizen journalism, database, maps, photos, social networking
8 Interactive online projects that educate and captivate
Monday, January 19, 2009Obama's Team
Sure you could read the in-depth reports or watch the tiresome press conferences to find out more about Barack Obama's cabinet team members. Or you can just use the interactive infographic from Spiegel Online that uses a carousel menu to illustrate the President-elect's political circle (learn how to create a similar effect here). The text is in German, but you don't have to speak the language to understand how engaging this project is.
Going to the End of the Line
Anyone who was ever lived or visited New York will recognize areas like Canarsie and Far Rockaway as a sort of a mythical no man's land, the end of the line where many subway riders rarely venture. The New York Times brought these and several other train stops to life through a compelling photo project that functions as an multi-level slideshow.
wordia
The dictionary has been around for centuries, but even its current digital form not much has changed since they were first being printed. Wordia is giving the lexicon a Web 2.0 makeover by providing a forum for anyone to upload what particular words mean to them. "Refuge" is commonly defined as "shelter or protection," but the user in the screenshot below describes refuge as "jumping into a hot shower after being trapped outside in the cold for hours." You won't find that in Webster's.
Breathing Earth
Because we can't physically see CO² emissions, it's hard to imagine the possible destruction the gas is causing the planet. The Breathing Earth simulation attempts to visualize the effects of greenhouse gases and blends an interactive infographic with changing statistics.
Obama's "Whistle Stop" Train Tour
CNN again makes use of its iReport feature to let citizen journalists be the ones to capture Obama's ride on the rails as he made his way to Washington, D.C. User-generated video is blended with CNN reports and mapped to give the user an interactive feel for the journey.
AfricaMap
There are likely hundreds of thousands of maps that document the African continent, but internet users can find all the map they'll need at this Harvard-created interactive project. The simple map can become more and more complex as various levels of data are layered on top of each other. Below, a 2007 index of Africa's power plants rests atop a 1770 historical map.
Perspectives
Imagine talking heads who don't talk at all. The video series from BaseMotion asks several people for their opinion on an issue and instead of showing their answers, shows only the pauses, breaks, ums and aahs. The stripped-down interview is a demonstration of human idiosyncrasies and reactions, rather than an attempt to gather opinions.
Whack-A-Bone
It's a human anatomy lesson cleverly disguised as a game! Players attempt to drag and drop bones in their correct locations while facing a timer. After playing the game, you'll not only know where the phalanges and humerus bones are, but you'll be able to identify them in record time.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• Exploring the human body through multimedia
• Create brilliant multimedia projects from the mundane
• Online news games are fun (and informative!)
Labels: citizen journalism, database, flash, photos, video
Photojournalism: Where to find the best in news photography
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The internet is full of photojournalists that are capturing the world in new and innovative ways. The following sites are showcasing the best of the medium and are an inspiration to professional and aspiring news photographers everywhere:
WeSay does something rarely seen on the internet: news photos from mainstream media are shown off side by side with the work of amateur photographers. The result is a site that is as visually arresting as the photography it showcases.
Remember Kevin Carter's 1994 photo of the African child and the vulture? Or the 1945 photo of the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima? This site does and aggregates the photos that have made an undeniable impact on the world.
If you prefer your world-changing photographs in slide show form, Vanity Fair has brought together the famous snapshots of news subjects like Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Hindenburg.
Billed as "the monthly online magazine for visual journalism," The Digital Journalist brings together the best and latest in photojournalism, including the touching behind-the-scenes gallery of President-elect Obama by Time photographer Callie Shell.
Search through LIFE Magazine's famous photos and unreleased gems with Google's newly-released archive.
The 37th Frame is a source for the best photojournalism from around the web and encourages readers to submit their own.
Traditional news photography is given a multimedia kick. Stunning photographs are paired with audio to give the viewer a more detailed depiction of each news subject.
Citizen journalists are running the show at one of many Flickr groups dedicated to photojournalism. The collected works are not surprisingly just as good, if not better, than the pros.
The Big Picture, a blog-style site with amazing photos from around the world, has been around since May, but made a big splash during the Olympics with beautiful photos of the opening ceremony. The tradition continues with photos of subjects ranging from the California wildfires to the Red Bull Air Race.
Digital Photography has a great list of mainstream media sites illustrating the news through photos. For those photojournalists struggling with ethics in the digital age, this article is a must-read.
WeSay
WeSay does something rarely seen on the internet: news photos from mainstream media are shown off side by side with the work of amateur photographers. The result is a site that is as visually arresting as the photography it showcases.
Photos that Changed the World
Remember Kevin Carter's 1994 photo of the African child and the vulture? Or the 1945 photo of the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima? This site does and aggregates the photos that have made an undeniable impact on the world.
Vanity Fair: The 25 Best News Photographs
If you prefer your world-changing photographs in slide show form, Vanity Fair has brought together the famous snapshots of news subjects like Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Hindenburg.
The Digital Journalist
Billed as "the monthly online magazine for visual journalism," The Digital Journalist brings together the best and latest in photojournalism, including the touching behind-the-scenes gallery of President-elect Obama by Time photographer Callie Shell.
Google: LIFE Photo Archive
Search through LIFE Magazine's famous photos and unreleased gems with Google's newly-released archive.
The 37th Frame
The 37th Frame is a source for the best photojournalism from around the web and encourages readers to submit their own.
MediaStorm
Traditional news photography is given a multimedia kick. Stunning photographs are paired with audio to give the viewer a more detailed depiction of each news subject.
Flickr: Photojournalism 2.0
Citizen journalists are running the show at one of many Flickr groups dedicated to photojournalism. The collected works are not surprisingly just as good, if not better, than the pros.
The Big Picture
The Big Picture, a blog-style site with amazing photos from around the world, has been around since May, but made a big splash during the Olympics with beautiful photos of the opening ceremony. The tradition continues with photos of subjects ranging from the California wildfires to the Red Bull Air Race.
Digital Photography has a great list of mainstream media sites illustrating the news through photos. For those photojournalists struggling with ethics in the digital age, this article is a must-read.
Labels: citizen journalism, photos
15 Ways to follow the 2008 election online
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The power of the net to provide more innovative political coverage than what is possible in traditional forms of media has never been more evidenced than in this political season. Major news organizations and citizen journalists alike have harnessed the power of the web to provide the most comprehensive coverage of the US presidential election than has ever been possible. Here are some of the best ways to follow the political landscape online:
If there weren't 14 other sites on this list then perspctv would be the one stop for any election news seeker. The site culls the latest news, blog posts and tweets and provides insightful charts and maps as well as an embeddable widget for keeping track of it all.
We know the candidates are campaigning all over the country, but who are they campaigning in front of? The Christian Science Monitor has the answer. The site's analysis shows both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama spent a good chunk of their time in wealthy suburbs and big cities.
Everyone knows Twitter is abuzz with political views, skews and insights, including the observations of Twitter stars FakeSarahPalin and CNN's Rick Sanchez. Twitter Chatter is one way to wrangle these conversations as well as to see on a map where they are coming from.
FiveThirtyEight.com is the dream of any political statistics hound. The site has the latest polls, the latest news, the latest charts, graphs, statistics, hypotheticals...the latest everything. It's like a political rabbit hole...check it out only if you have time to spare.
"Show me the money!" Okay it's 2008, not 1996, but if you're curious to know where the campaign money is coming from, Political Base has you covered with a well-designed Google map as well as a list of big name contributors and a handy search form.
Tube the Vote strives to provide a balanced view of issues that are affecting this year's presidential election by scouring the web for video, blog posts, Flickr photos and more that celebrate or repudiate either side.
Get to know the presidential and vice presidential candidates a little better by following the milestones of their lives on a Google Map. Anyone can follow the journey of John McCain, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin or Joe Biden.
Voters tired of the spin and searching for the truth will appreciate PolitiFact's analysis of recent campaign assertions. Was Sen. Obama referring to Sarah Palin when he mentioned "lipstick on a pig?" No way, says PolitiFact. Does Sen. McCain support tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas? Not that simple, according to the site.
iPhone users will be glad to know that they don't have to be at a computer to track the latest on the 2008 presidential race. The iPhone application is a great source for tracking the latest polls as long as you don't check to often — Election 08 is sometimes behind in its updates.
To say these two wikis are unbiased would be a big misstatement — the former is run by the DNC, the other is populated by Obama fans. Still, using modern technology to encourage citizen participation is never a bad thing.
This genius bit of citizen participation encourages everyone to not only speak their mind to President Bush, but to presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama as well. Recent responses — which are themselves wholly interesting and telling — are displayed on each page.
This Google map knows where the candidates will be and when and makes that information at the click of a button. Campaign appearances for both candidates are listed in reverse chronological order as well as marked on a map.
Video of campaign speeches from both Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain are tracked and mapped on these map mashups that incorporate video from YouTube.
Everymoment Now uses a unique graph to chart the number of times a candidate was mentioned on any particular day since August of this year. Clicking on a bar in the chart reveals news stories that were published that day as well as more detailed charts and graphs.
If you plan on voting in the upcoming US election, but still don't know which candidate to vote for, the Match-o-Matic is sure to help. The humorous, interactive quiz gives the user two quotes — one from Sen. Obama and one from Sen. McCain — and the user selects which one they agree with most without knowing who said it. The final tally reveals which presidential candidate's platform the user is more likely to side with.
1. perspctv
If there weren't 14 other sites on this list then perspctv would be the one stop for any election news seeker. The site culls the latest news, blog posts and tweets and provides insightful charts and maps as well as an embeddable widget for keeping track of it all.
2. Patchwork Nation
We know the candidates are campaigning all over the country, but who are they campaigning in front of? The Christian Science Monitor has the answer. The site's analysis shows both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama spent a good chunk of their time in wealthy suburbs and big cities.
3. Election '08 Twitter Chatter
Everyone knows Twitter is abuzz with political views, skews and insights, including the observations of Twitter stars FakeSarahPalin and CNN's Rick Sanchez. Twitter Chatter is one way to wrangle these conversations as well as to see on a map where they are coming from.
4. FiveThirtyEight.com
FiveThirtyEight.com is the dream of any political statistics hound. The site has the latest polls, the latest news, the latest charts, graphs, statistics, hypotheticals...the latest everything. It's like a political rabbit hole...check it out only if you have time to spare.
5. Map of 2008 Presidential Contributions
"Show me the money!" Okay it's 2008, not 1996, but if you're curious to know where the campaign money is coming from, Political Base has you covered with a well-designed Google map as well as a list of big name contributors and a handy search form.
6. Tube the Vote!
Tube the Vote strives to provide a balanced view of issues that are affecting this year's presidential election by scouring the web for video, blog posts, Flickr photos and more that celebrate or repudiate either side.
7. Candidates' life journeys
Get to know the presidential and vice presidential candidates a little better by following the milestones of their lives on a Google Map. Anyone can follow the journey of John McCain, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin or Joe Biden.
8. PolitiFact's The Attack Files
Voters tired of the spin and searching for the truth will appreciate PolitiFact's analysis of recent campaign assertions. Was Sen. Obama referring to Sarah Palin when he mentioned "lipstick on a pig?" No way, says PolitiFact. Does Sen. McCain support tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas? Not that simple, according to the site.
9. Election 08
iPhone users will be glad to know that they don't have to be at a computer to track the latest on the 2008 presidential race. The iPhone application is a great source for tracking the latest polls as long as you don't check to often — Election 08 is sometimes behind in its updates.
10. McCainPedia/Obamapedia
To say these two wikis are unbiased would be a big misstatement — the former is run by the DNC, the other is populated by Obama fans. Still, using modern technology to encourage citizen participation is never a bad thing.
11. What Would You Say to the President?
This genius bit of citizen participation encourages everyone to not only speak their mind to President Bush, but to presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama as well. Recent responses — which are themselves wholly interesting and telling — are displayed on each page.
12. Google Maps (campaign trail)
This Google map knows where the candidates will be and when and makes that information at the click of a button. Campaign appearances for both candidates are listed in reverse chronological order as well as marked on a map.
13. Google Maps (video)
Video of campaign speeches from both Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain are tracked and mapped on these map mashups that incorporate video from YouTube.
14. Everymoment Now
Everymoment Now uses a unique graph to chart the number of times a candidate was mentioned on any particular day since August of this year. Clicking on a bar in the chart reveals news stories that were published that day as well as more detailed charts and graphs.
15. ABC News' Match-o-Matic
If you plan on voting in the upcoming US election, but still don't know which candidate to vote for, the Match-o-Matic is sure to help. The humorous, interactive quiz gives the user two quotes — one from Sen. Obama and one from Sen. McCain — and the user selects which one they agree with most without knowing who said it. The final tally reveals which presidential candidate's platform the user is more likely to side with.
Labels: citizen journalism, database, maps, mobile, photos, social networking, video, widgets, wiki
How the internet is changing how natural disasters are covered
Monday, September 01, 2008
As recently as a year or two ago, coverage of a natural disaster simply meant a reporter in a wet slicker being whipped around by gale-force winds.
Today's news audience demands immediate and hyperlocal coverage and the internet is here to give it to them. A recent study shows that people are more likely to turn to social networks like Twitter and Facebook than traditional news sources in the event of an emergency.
There have already been a number of blogs created exclusively for coverage of Hurricane Gustav, which was only on the radar a little over a week ago. These include the Hurricane Gustav Online Newsroom created by the Red Cross and Hurricane Gustav Resources maintained by OneStorm.
However, we are now living in a digital world where even blogs can't beat the immediacy of Twitter. There already a number of feeds on the microblogging service dedicated to Gustav, including news from the Red Cross, the SunHerald based in Mississippi's Gulf Coast, and the Chicago Tribune's GustavReporter.
Because of the fast breaking news happening on Twitter, major news media have already started to reference incoming tweets on their broadcasts, as evidenced in this story by Mike Elgan. You can follow updates about the hurricane by searching Twitter for "gustav" or joining the conversation by including the hastag #gustav in your tweets.
As recently as a year ago, many news outlets were reluctant to add their content to public video sharing sites like YouTube, but now those mainstream organizations are often ahead of the pack. The Associated Press has already posted a number of video clips to YouTube, which fit right in with the citizen journalist-created videos that exist on the site.
The way to show the path of a hurricane on a news broadcast used to be a relatively simple graphic that highlighted a large swirling cloud on a colorful map. The net has extended the possibility of what this map can be. MSNBC's Hurricane Tracker is a user-friendly interactive map that not only shows where Gustav is headed, but a host of other data to accompany it. The Palm Beach Post also has a Gustav tracking map, this one showing the hurricane as it relates to the southeast portion of the US.
CNN's iReport has also made use of maps, but in a different way. Photos and video from "iReporters," or citizen journalists who are in the middle of the storm, are geotagged and posted on the map where others can view by area and leave comments.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel has gone all out and provided every type of news coverage imaginable, including video, a variety of maps, constantly updated blogs, archival footage and more, in addition to its traditional print stories.
Other useful online tools that likely wouldn't have existed a few years ago include a Google Maps mashup of evacuation destinations and the HurriCam, a live streaming webcam stationed in southernmost Louisiana. And because average Joes are no longer content to sit around and wait for mainstream media to report on the news that matters to them, the Ning-based social network Gustav Information Center has been setup to provide a forum for Hurricane Gustav-related news. Credentialed reporters and citizen journalists alike will also find the social network Storm Tools for Journalists incredibly useful.
Finally, there has been a recent trend in newsrooms to provide links to organizations that provide aid to those devastated by natural disasters. After the recent cyclone in Myanmar, many online news sites like the New York Times streamlined the donation process.
Today's news audience demands immediate and hyperlocal coverage and the internet is here to give it to them. A recent study shows that people are more likely to turn to social networks like Twitter and Facebook than traditional news sources in the event of an emergency.
There have already been a number of blogs created exclusively for coverage of Hurricane Gustav, which was only on the radar a little over a week ago. These include the Hurricane Gustav Online Newsroom created by the Red Cross and Hurricane Gustav Resources maintained by OneStorm.
However, we are now living in a digital world where even blogs can't beat the immediacy of Twitter. There already a number of feeds on the microblogging service dedicated to Gustav, including news from the Red Cross, the SunHerald based in Mississippi's Gulf Coast, and the Chicago Tribune's GustavReporter.
Because of the fast breaking news happening on Twitter, major news media have already started to reference incoming tweets on their broadcasts, as evidenced in this story by Mike Elgan. You can follow updates about the hurricane by searching Twitter for "gustav" or joining the conversation by including the hastag #gustav in your tweets.
As recently as a year ago, many news outlets were reluctant to add their content to public video sharing sites like YouTube, but now those mainstream organizations are often ahead of the pack. The Associated Press has already posted a number of video clips to YouTube, which fit right in with the citizen journalist-created videos that exist on the site.
The way to show the path of a hurricane on a news broadcast used to be a relatively simple graphic that highlighted a large swirling cloud on a colorful map. The net has extended the possibility of what this map can be. MSNBC's Hurricane Tracker is a user-friendly interactive map that not only shows where Gustav is headed, but a host of other data to accompany it. The Palm Beach Post also has a Gustav tracking map, this one showing the hurricane as it relates to the southeast portion of the US.
CNN's iReport has also made use of maps, but in a different way. Photos and video from "iReporters," or citizen journalists who are in the middle of the storm, are geotagged and posted on the map where others can view by area and leave comments.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel has gone all out and provided every type of news coverage imaginable, including video, a variety of maps, constantly updated blogs, archival footage and more, in addition to its traditional print stories.
Other useful online tools that likely wouldn't have existed a few years ago include a Google Maps mashup of evacuation destinations and the HurriCam, a live streaming webcam stationed in southernmost Louisiana. And because average Joes are no longer content to sit around and wait for mainstream media to report on the news that matters to them, the Ning-based social network Gustav Information Center has been setup to provide a forum for Hurricane Gustav-related news. Credentialed reporters and citizen journalists alike will also find the social network Storm Tools for Journalists incredibly useful.
Finally, there has been a recent trend in newsrooms to provide links to organizations that provide aid to those devastated by natural disasters. After the recent cyclone in Myanmar, many online news sites like the New York Times streamlined the donation process.
Labels: citizen journalism, maps, news on the news, photos, social networking, video
Olympics 2.0(08): The ultimate guide to online coverage of the 2008 Games
Thursday, August 07, 2008
There have been a number of technological advances in journalism in the four years since the last Summer Olympic Games so this year promises to be a breakthrough in how the Olympics are covered. News organizations, citizen journalists and corporations have been gearing up for some time now to present the best in multimedia, print and online coverage as well as advertising and social networking. Here is some of the best of what to expect:
Blogs
One of my biggest dreams is to attend the Olympics games, but I opted out this year for two reasons 1) I was concerned about the restrictions on journalists and 2) I have a strong aversion to Chinese food. That said, I'll see you in London in 2012. In the meantime, there are a number of other media and interested parties that will be covering the Olympic Games:
Google also has an interesting way of keeping tabs on the Games. Just enter the name of the event you are interested in plus the word 'olympics' in the search field and Google will return a schedule of upcoming events. You can also get updates from a number of Twitter users.
For those journalists reading from Beijing, PopPhoto has some advice for navigating around China and the Olympic atmosphere.
Video
In addition to offering more than extensive coverage of the Olympic Games in the US, NBC will make an additional 2,200 hours of streaming video available online at NBCOlympics.com. On the other side of the world, CCTV.com and Adobe have partnered up to offer more than 5,000 hours of streaming video to mainland China and Macau via CCTVOlympics.com
In countries where NBC doesn't have exclusive rights to Olympic video, the games will be broadcast online on YouTube. This includes 77 territories in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
US residents who are unable to watch the Games either on television or online have the option of downloading Olympics on the Go, a Tivo-like service that will download selected events straight to their computer. Best of all, the service is free.
Multimedia
The New York Times, that stalwart exemplar of multimedia, has some pretty comprehensive coverage, including two awesome Flash-based interactive projects: Olympic Medal Count Map, which uses expanding circles to illustrate the number of medals won over the years by various countries, and Passing the Torch, a visual history of the Olympic torch.
The Chicago Tribune's photo gallery "Olympic athletes you can root for" is a compelling look at Olympians who may not be household names. Some of the venues where the athletes compete and visitors will tour, including the Olympic Sports Centre and Tiananmen Square can be viewed in 3D by clicking here.
Print
Text is the foundation of journalism and there have already been a number of feature stories published online that are worth a read.
From BBC News: The Olympic torch's shadowy past
From Sportingo: The top ten greatest Olympic moments
From mental_floss: What happens to Olympic facilities after the games are over?
From WebUrbanist: 8 Pivotal Olympic Villages And Venues Then And Now
Widgets
Left to right: USA Today, NBC , Google Gadgets, Widgetbox
Mobile
When you just got can't make to the television in time to catch your favorite Olympic event, be sure to turn to any of the following mobile sites offering Olympic coverage:
Yahoo!
Sky
NBC
New York Times
Sports Illustrated/SI.com
USA Today
Times Online
Advertising
Coca-Cola wasn't yet invented at the first Olympic Games, but the beverage corporation and a number of other companies are making up for lost time by plastering their image all over Beijing and the web.
Lenovo, a similarly ubiquitous sponsor of the Olympiad, has put together Voices of the Olympic Games, an online site in which real Olympic athletes share their stories and experiences. Olympians like Peter Lopez, a member of the Peruvian taekwondo team, seem genuinely excited to blog about Beijing, and — good news here — he and others are blogging in their native language.
As Panasonic will gladly tell you, the electronics giant has been sponsoring the Olympic Games for 20 years. This year is, of course, no different. It's Japanese site offers Olympic-themed video/ads and other goodies like desktop wallpaper. In the U.S., the Panasonic Mobile Tour is already underway. A huge rig equipped with the latest in television technology is traveling around the country to show off the Olympic Games in high definition.
McDonald's will be feeding many visitors to Beijing in the Olympic Village, and, in some selected countries, will offer its "China Menu" which includes a burger topped with sesame seeds, chop suey and ginger sauce. And finally you can catch Olympians in all their glory in a visually arresting set of ads for Powerade by clicking here (SFW).
You can check out my personal contribution to Olympic fever at Entertainment Weekly. How are you covering the Olympic Games? Or, if you are a fan, how will you be following them? Share your plans in the comments.
One of my biggest dreams is to attend the Olympics games, but I opted out this year for two reasons 1) I was concerned about the restrictions on journalists and 2) I have a strong aversion to Chinese food. That said, I'll see you in London in 2012. In the meantime, there are a number of other media and interested parties that will be covering the Olympic Games:
- The New York Times Olympics blog
- Los Angeles Times: Ticket to Beijing
- BBC Sport Olympics 2008
- ESPN Olympics Blog
- Indian Olympic Blog
- San Jose Mercury News Olympic Games Blog
- Beijing Olympics Fan
- Reuters
- FanNation Beijing Olympics Blog
- Reuters
- Times Online: Barnes in Beijing
Google also has an interesting way of keeping tabs on the Games. Just enter the name of the event you are interested in plus the word 'olympics' in the search field and Google will return a schedule of upcoming events. You can also get updates from a number of Twitter users.
For those journalists reading from Beijing, PopPhoto has some advice for navigating around China and the Olympic atmosphere.
In addition to offering more than extensive coverage of the Olympic Games in the US, NBC will make an additional 2,200 hours of streaming video available online at NBCOlympics.com. On the other side of the world, CCTV.com and Adobe have partnered up to offer more than 5,000 hours of streaming video to mainland China and Macau via CCTVOlympics.com
In countries where NBC doesn't have exclusive rights to Olympic video, the games will be broadcast online on YouTube. This includes 77 territories in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
US residents who are unable to watch the Games either on television or online have the option of downloading Olympics on the Go, a Tivo-like service that will download selected events straight to their computer. Best of all, the service is free.
The New York Times, that stalwart exemplar of multimedia, has some pretty comprehensive coverage, including two awesome Flash-based interactive projects: Olympic Medal Count Map, which uses expanding circles to illustrate the number of medals won over the years by various countries, and Passing the Torch, a visual history of the Olympic torch.
The Chicago Tribune's photo gallery "Olympic athletes you can root for" is a compelling look at Olympians who may not be household names. Some of the venues where the athletes compete and visitors will tour, including the Olympic Sports Centre and Tiananmen Square can be viewed in 3D by clicking here.
Text is the foundation of journalism and there have already been a number of feature stories published online that are worth a read.
From BBC News: The Olympic torch's shadowy past
From Sportingo: The top ten greatest Olympic moments
From mental_floss: What happens to Olympic facilities after the games are over?
From WebUrbanist: 8 Pivotal Olympic Villages And Venues Then And Now
Left to right: USA Today, NBC , Google Gadgets, Widgetbox
When you just got can't make to the television in time to catch your favorite Olympic event, be sure to turn to any of the following mobile sites offering Olympic coverage:
Yahoo!
Sky
NBC
New York Times
Sports Illustrated/SI.com
USA Today
Times Online
Coca-Cola wasn't yet invented at the first Olympic Games, but the beverage corporation and a number of other companies are making up for lost time by plastering their image all over Beijing and the web.
Lenovo, a similarly ubiquitous sponsor of the Olympiad, has put together Voices of the Olympic Games, an online site in which real Olympic athletes share their stories and experiences. Olympians like Peter Lopez, a member of the Peruvian taekwondo team, seem genuinely excited to blog about Beijing, and — good news here — he and others are blogging in their native language.
As Panasonic will gladly tell you, the electronics giant has been sponsoring the Olympic Games for 20 years. This year is, of course, no different. It's Japanese site offers Olympic-themed video/ads and other goodies like desktop wallpaper. In the U.S., the Panasonic Mobile Tour is already underway. A huge rig equipped with the latest in television technology is traveling around the country to show off the Olympic Games in high definition.
McDonald's will be feeding many visitors to Beijing in the Olympic Village, and, in some selected countries, will offer its "China Menu" which includes a burger topped with sesame seeds, chop suey and ginger sauce. And finally you can catch Olympians in all their glory in a visually arresting set of ads for Powerade by clicking here (SFW).
You can check out my personal contribution to Olympic fever at Entertainment Weekly. How are you covering the Olympic Games? Or, if you are a fan, how will you be following them? Share your plans in the comments.
Labels: blogging, citizen journalism, maps, mobile, social networking, video, widgets
Why aren't all journalists "citizen" journalists?
Thursday, May 01, 2008
After working in a newsroom for some time, many journalists began to work in a bubble and lose touch with the community on which they report. Rather than writing great journalism to enlighten readers, some journos began to write solely for the adoration of their peers and editors, or at worst, for journalism competitions.
"Citizen journalist" has come to refer to, in its most basic form, the common man who makes his voice heard, but the term itself sometimes takes on a derogatory connotation. They aren't real journalists, of course, just some bozo with a computer. This attitude coupled with the fact that some reporters are perturbed by the recent surge of citizen journalism suggests a disconnect between our work and the lives we lead outside of the newsroom. It's time to stop reading blogs simply to raid them for story ideas, but to become a part of the discourse that is happening outside of our own news sites.
Before Web 2.0 and multimedia journalism began to change the landscape of the newsroom, the focus was mainly on newsroom diversity. Many media companies recognized the benefit in a staff that reflected the community. But if a diverse staff doesn't see itself as part of the community, then the very purpose of diversity fails.
It's easy to be inspired by the work of our peers at mainstream media powerhouses like the New York Times and MSNBC, but there is great multimedia reporting happening outside of the traditional journalism sphere that should not be discounted. Sites like Wikipedia are often maligned by professional journalists, and even though they are fallible, are a case for the power of an online community coming together to create a substantial resource outside of the hierarchy of a mainstream news outlet.
Those crazy remarks in the online comments section can be a further put off and are often cited as a case against letting average Joes in on the conversation, but insightful information can also be found amongst the craziness.
Journalists should be an active part of the community they cover and not discount citizen journalists as untrained hacks. Lack of formal journalism training doesn't negate the voice of the average citizen. To ignore those voices is to ignore the voice of the community on which you report.
Ultimately it comes down to never thinking you know more than your audience. I'm not suggesting all journalists should drop their notepads and write whatever the heck they want. Rather, journalists should remember that we are all "citizens" of the communities we cover and our reportage should reflect that.
"Citizen journalist" has come to refer to, in its most basic form, the common man who makes his voice heard, but the term itself sometimes takes on a derogatory connotation. They aren't real journalists, of course, just some bozo with a computer. This attitude coupled with the fact that some reporters are perturbed by the recent surge of citizen journalism suggests a disconnect between our work and the lives we lead outside of the newsroom. It's time to stop reading blogs simply to raid them for story ideas, but to become a part of the discourse that is happening outside of our own news sites.
Before Web 2.0 and multimedia journalism began to change the landscape of the newsroom, the focus was mainly on newsroom diversity. Many media companies recognized the benefit in a staff that reflected the community. But if a diverse staff doesn't see itself as part of the community, then the very purpose of diversity fails.
It's easy to be inspired by the work of our peers at mainstream media powerhouses like the New York Times and MSNBC, but there is great multimedia reporting happening outside of the traditional journalism sphere that should not be discounted. Sites like Wikipedia are often maligned by professional journalists, and even though they are fallible, are a case for the power of an online community coming together to create a substantial resource outside of the hierarchy of a mainstream news outlet.
Those crazy remarks in the online comments section can be a further put off and are often cited as a case against letting average Joes in on the conversation, but insightful information can also be found amongst the craziness.
Journalists should be an active part of the community they cover and not discount citizen journalists as untrained hacks. Lack of formal journalism training doesn't negate the voice of the average citizen. To ignore those voices is to ignore the voice of the community on which you report.
Ultimately it comes down to never thinking you know more than your audience. I'm not suggesting all journalists should drop their notepads and write whatever the heck they want. Rather, journalists should remember that we are all "citizens" of the communities we cover and our reportage should reflect that.
Labels: citizen journalism
Citizen journalists drive online politics
Saturday, April 05, 2008
November 4 is right around the corner, so if you haven't had a meeting or two about elections coverage, now's as good a time as any. If you're already on the ball or if you need to get rolling, here are some online sites that are infusing new media into traditional political journalism and powered by citizen journalists.
For the average citizen, presidential primaries can be a confusing and complicated process. Regular guy/techie Jim Edlin presents an alternative to the existing process of electing a president with the site OnlinePrimary. Visitors are asked to rank the presidential candidates and the results are posted on the front page.
One part of the political process that is a head scratcher for the average person is the Democratic Party's use of superdelegates. The Superdelegate Transparency Project aims to remove a little bit of the mystery behind these all-important politicos by examining who they are and who they plan to vote for (right now, the count is in favor of Hillary Clinton). The site also provides in-depth, yet easy to read information on how the delegate process works.
In a play for the Naked News crowd (link semi-NSFW), SexyPolitics is encouraging political awareness by adding a little incentive. It's simple: take a quiz on political candidates, issues or general political knowledge and the more questions you get right, the more articles of clothing the "stripper" removes. The questions can get admittedly difficult so you're going to have to work hard to get that sexy prisoner to disrobe. If you're only interested in taking the quizzes, there is an option to skip the strip. On the plus side, the site is making politics and a whole lot more interesting and, ahem, sexier.
YouBama, a portmanteau of video sharing site YouTube and presidential candidate Barack Obama, is exactly what its name suggests: a site for sharing videos of the presidential candidate. Users have uploaded roughly 600 videos of campaign ads, attacks on the competition, news clips and poems(?).
Can you really tell a lot about a candidate based on his or her website? Dustin Brewer thinks so. The freelance web designer judges the candidates' web presence from a purely technical standpoint, examining the lines of code and overall design. Barack Obama comes out on top for his site's clean and modern look and cross-browser compatibility, while John McCain and Mike Huckabee fall to the bottom for their lack of effort and faulty coding.
Every political candidate has their own website, faulty or no, but 23-year-old Meghan McCain is getting serious mileage out of the web by blogging her experiences while on the road with her father, newly minted Republican presidential nominee John McCain. The site is like a journal/family photo album and makes the elder McCain seem less staid as he and some other candidates can appear to be when making the rounds on television.
Speaking of blogs, a recent Harris poll showed that "only" 22 percent of Americans of read political blogs regularly, but I'd like to flip that notion on its head. Considering there are roughly 303 million people living in America and blogs really became mainstream in the last few years, I'd say that's quite a lot of people reading political blogs.
Consider also that the public's reliance on newspapers and television as a source of political news is slipping (but you knew that already), according to the Pew Research Center. That means its time to beef up online political news and perhaps look to the average Janes and Joes for a little inspiration.
For more politics, check out previous posts on tracking the presidential candidates online and unusual political news coverage.
For the average citizen, presidential primaries can be a confusing and complicated process. Regular guy/techie Jim Edlin presents an alternative to the existing process of electing a president with the site OnlinePrimary. Visitors are asked to rank the presidential candidates and the results are posted on the front page.
One part of the political process that is a head scratcher for the average person is the Democratic Party's use of superdelegates. The Superdelegate Transparency Project aims to remove a little bit of the mystery behind these all-important politicos by examining who they are and who they plan to vote for (right now, the count is in favor of Hillary Clinton). The site also provides in-depth, yet easy to read information on how the delegate process works.
In a play for the Naked News crowd (link semi-NSFW), SexyPolitics is encouraging political awareness by adding a little incentive. It's simple: take a quiz on political candidates, issues or general political knowledge and the more questions you get right, the more articles of clothing the "stripper" removes. The questions can get admittedly difficult so you're going to have to work hard to get that sexy prisoner to disrobe. If you're only interested in taking the quizzes, there is an option to skip the strip. On the plus side, the site is making politics and a whole lot more interesting and, ahem, sexier.
YouBama, a portmanteau of video sharing site YouTube and presidential candidate Barack Obama, is exactly what its name suggests: a site for sharing videos of the presidential candidate. Users have uploaded roughly 600 videos of campaign ads, attacks on the competition, news clips and poems(?).
Can you really tell a lot about a candidate based on his or her website? Dustin Brewer thinks so. The freelance web designer judges the candidates' web presence from a purely technical standpoint, examining the lines of code and overall design. Barack Obama comes out on top for his site's clean and modern look and cross-browser compatibility, while John McCain and Mike Huckabee fall to the bottom for their lack of effort and faulty coding.
Every political candidate has their own website, faulty or no, but 23-year-old Meghan McCain is getting serious mileage out of the web by blogging her experiences while on the road with her father, newly minted Republican presidential nominee John McCain. The site is like a journal/family photo album and makes the elder McCain seem less staid as he and some other candidates can appear to be when making the rounds on television.
Speaking of blogs, a recent Harris poll showed that "only" 22 percent of Americans of read political blogs regularly, but I'd like to flip that notion on its head. Considering there are roughly 303 million people living in America and blogs really became mainstream in the last few years, I'd say that's quite a lot of people reading political blogs.
Consider also that the public's reliance on newspapers and television as a source of political news is slipping (but you knew that already), according to the Pew Research Center. That means its time to beef up online political news and perhaps look to the average Janes and Joes for a little inspiration.
For more politics, check out previous posts on tracking the presidential candidates online and unusual political news coverage.
Labels: blogging, citizen journalism, video
Sports fans are the new citizen journalists
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Sports journalism has an intrinsic fan base, so it only makes sense to parlay that readership into online sports communities.
Takkle, an offshoot of Sports Illustrated, is hooking them while they're young. The site has an active network of high school athletes and fans who can submit photos and video of their favorite teams or participate in throwdowns on just about any topic.
Impressively, the site ranks the top 25 basketball players and top 100 football players from high schools across the country. Takkle users can rate each player as over or underrated, view stats and debate the player's cred in the comments section.
Elsewhere on the site, SI.com's College Football's Greatest Rivalries video series is well-packaged and is sure to get football fans talking. All the greats are there including University of Florida v Florida State, USC v UCLA and Army v Navy. The opportunity to debate the prowess of one's home team exists elsewhere on the site at FanNation, but it would have been nice to have a comment section or direct link to each rivalry's discussion board to make the debate more immediate.
Bleacher Report is perhaps the best citizen journalism sports site not tied to a mainstream media outlet. In the vein of Associated Content, users can register and write their own sports-related articles, which, when posted, can be reviewed and rated by other users. Writers are free to speak their minds and throw unbiasedness out the window (especially today's front page story "ESPN: The Ultimate Hypocrite". Totally valid argument, but wow what a headline.) Bleacher Report covers most of the major sports, including football, basketball and soccer and its thriving community is making it one of the best on the web.
And because no post is complete without a good map, soccermap.net takes soccer league tables and plots them on a user-friendly map. The site is Europe-centric, but is very comprehensive and is RSS-enabled for news on any specific league. The site's stats can even be embedded as a widget on any webpage.
Read more about tackling the online sports section in this previous post.
Takkle, an offshoot of Sports Illustrated, is hooking them while they're young. The site has an active network of high school athletes and fans who can submit photos and video of their favorite teams or participate in throwdowns on just about any topic.
Impressively, the site ranks the top 25 basketball players and top 100 football players from high schools across the country. Takkle users can rate each player as over or underrated, view stats and debate the player's cred in the comments section.
Elsewhere on the site, SI.com's College Football's Greatest Rivalries video series is well-packaged and is sure to get football fans talking. All the greats are there including University of Florida v Florida State, USC v UCLA and Army v Navy. The opportunity to debate the prowess of one's home team exists elsewhere on the site at FanNation, but it would have been nice to have a comment section or direct link to each rivalry's discussion board to make the debate more immediate.
Bleacher Report is perhaps the best citizen journalism sports site not tied to a mainstream media outlet. In the vein of Associated Content, users can register and write their own sports-related articles, which, when posted, can be reviewed and rated by other users. Writers are free to speak their minds and throw unbiasedness out the window (especially today's front page story "ESPN: The Ultimate Hypocrite". Totally valid argument, but wow what a headline.) Bleacher Report covers most of the major sports, including football, basketball and soccer and its thriving community is making it one of the best on the web.
And because no post is complete without a good map, soccermap.net takes soccer league tables and plots them on a user-friendly map. The site is Europe-centric, but is very comprehensive and is RSS-enabled for news on any specific league. The site's stats can even be embedded as a widget on any webpage.
Read more about tackling the online sports section in this previous post.
Labels: citizen journalism, maps, rss, social networking, video
How to cover the news from every angle
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
During a Hillary Clinton rally on CNN last week, it was obvious that nearly every supporter behind her had some sort of camera in his or her hand. Assuming there were hundreds of cameras positioned around the auditorium, the experience of the rally, or any other event, could be enhanced through multimedia. Using the different camera locations could give the online user the ability to pick the angle from which they view a news story instead of letting a media outlet choose for them.
The hundreds of cameras in the one room was reminiscent of the bullet time technology used in the movie The Matrix that positioned a number of cameras around an actor to create the effect of stopping time. That same thinking can be married with what is visually represented in the end credits of the movie Dreamgirls: the film editor's job of selecting different camera shots (see below for examples). We can, in effect, let the user be his or her own film editor.
Left: Actor Keanu Reeves is captured in bullet time; Right: Film editing represented in the end credits of Dreamgirls
Below is a visual example of the possibilities of this technology. Using user-submitted photos, in this case, from Flickr, a site visitor can select the angle from which they view a news event (in this case a Barack Obama campaign rally in Oakland, Calif. last year).
Photos from Flickr users solsken, juicyrai, oso, js42, Barack Obama, y-cart used under Creative Commons license
The project above was built in Flash in less than 30 minutes and can be done for political speeches, sporting events, red carpet coverage, you name it. Many news outlets already have tip lines in place like for example CNN's I-Report and the submissions can be harnessed to provide the online visitor with a unique experience. This can also be recreated by a quick-on-their-feet photographer or videographer who can literally be in many places at once.
The hundreds of cameras in the one room was reminiscent of the bullet time technology used in the movie The Matrix that positioned a number of cameras around an actor to create the effect of stopping time. That same thinking can be married with what is visually represented in the end credits of the movie Dreamgirls: the film editor's job of selecting different camera shots (see below for examples). We can, in effect, let the user be his or her own film editor.
Left: Actor Keanu Reeves is captured in bullet time; Right: Film editing represented in the end credits of Dreamgirls
Below is a visual example of the possibilities of this technology. Using user-submitted photos, in this case, from Flickr, a site visitor can select the angle from which they view a news event (in this case a Barack Obama campaign rally in Oakland, Calif. last year).
Photos from Flickr users solsken, juicyrai, oso, js42, Barack Obama, y-cart used under Creative Commons license
The project above was built in Flash in less than 30 minutes and can be done for political speeches, sporting events, red carpet coverage, you name it. Many news outlets already have tip lines in place like for example CNN's I-Report and the submissions can be harnessed to provide the online visitor with a unique experience. This can also be recreated by a quick-on-their-feet photographer or videographer who can literally be in many places at once.
Labels: citizen journalism, flash, photos
Great online journalism from non-traditional journalists
Thursday, February 28, 2008
It's easy to be inspired by the work of mainstream media powerhouses like The New York Times and CNN, but there is great multimedia to be found outside of the traditional journalism sphere.
The role of individual musicians in an orchestra is illustrated in the following clip from the short film "Das Sein und das Nichts". As the music plays, the contribution from each musical instrument is visually represented.
Many people are aware of the spread of HIV, but unclear about how the disease attacks the body. The slick-looking video "Targeting HIV replication" is more Star Wars than PSA and interprets the debilitating process in a very easy facile manner.
People in Order, a series of short films that translates statistics in a very visual and emotional way, is one of the greatest video series to emerge this year. The four shorts by filmmakers Lenka Clayton and James Price were filmed over four weeks in February and arranged 471 Brits by age, yearly income, relationship length and pregnancy.
The embedded videos are "New Age, BANG, Old Age," in which a person of every age, between 1 and 100, bangs a single drum. The second is "New Love Order" in which 48 couples are arranged by length of their relationship. The other two films are "We Make This Much Money" and a video showing women at various stages of pregnancy.
Along the lines of People in Order and a previous post about finding multimedia in the mundane is a series of photos dubbed "Taking pictures of strangers," courtesy of mental_floss blog. The photos of random people are innately compelling without the need for a news hook or a nut graf.
A series of video and flat graphics illustrate how New York reaches out to the rest of the world. The project tracked international phone calls and ISP connections between NYC and locations around the globe and it is presented in a visually arresting way. The multimedia project is available online and is on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Finally, this simple, yet effective animated gif of how a sewing machine works takes what could have been a flat graphic and turned it into a hypnotic, "so that's how it works" moment.
The role of individual musicians in an orchestra is illustrated in the following clip from the short film "Das Sein und das Nichts". As the music plays, the contribution from each musical instrument is visually represented.
Many people are aware of the spread of HIV, but unclear about how the disease attacks the body. The slick-looking video "Targeting HIV replication" is more Star Wars than PSA and interprets the debilitating process in a very easy facile manner.
People in Order, a series of short films that translates statistics in a very visual and emotional way, is one of the greatest video series to emerge this year. The four shorts by filmmakers Lenka Clayton and James Price were filmed over four weeks in February and arranged 471 Brits by age, yearly income, relationship length and pregnancy.
The embedded videos are "New Age, BANG, Old Age," in which a person of every age, between 1 and 100, bangs a single drum. The second is "New Love Order" in which 48 couples are arranged by length of their relationship. The other two films are "We Make This Much Money" and a video showing women at various stages of pregnancy.
Along the lines of People in Order and a previous post about finding multimedia in the mundane is a series of photos dubbed "Taking pictures of strangers," courtesy of mental_floss blog. The photos of random people are innately compelling without the need for a news hook or a nut graf.
A series of video and flat graphics illustrate how New York reaches out to the rest of the world. The project tracked international phone calls and ISP connections between NYC and locations around the globe and it is presented in a visually arresting way. The multimedia project is available online and is on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Finally, this simple, yet effective animated gif of how a sewing machine works takes what could have been a flat graphic and turned it into a hypnotic, "so that's how it works" moment.
Labels: citizen journalism, video
Politics as (un)usual
Monday, January 28, 2008
There are a number of sites that will help you determine who you should vote for based on your stance on a number of political issues, including The Candidate Match Game from USA Today, Connect2Elect and glassbooth.
Wired ran a great story about how event sharing site Eventful helped bring John Edwards to Kentucky, a state oft neglected by presidential candidates. Sounds like the web is working, but Mashable points out that presidential candidates aren't actually personally invested in social media.
For those who want to take politics into their own hands, the good people at THUP have created an online game that lets users pick their candidates and the team behind them and campaign their way across the country, staking out political territory.
The Associated Press asked some of the presidential candidates their favorite and least foods (with amusing results). This naturally led Chow, a site for all things food previously mentioned here, to create an "Eat Sheet" that compared the candidates' tastes in one nifty chart. Mitt Romney loves hot dogs and Barack Obama loves chili. A match made in heaven?
Are you registered to vote? Are you sure? VotePoke will help anyone confirm if they are registered to vote for the upcoming election. I am newly registered after moving to a new home and the site did not have my information up, so I cannot verify if it actually works or not, but its worth a try.
Need more politics? Check out this previous post on tracking the presidential candidates online.
Wired ran a great story about how event sharing site Eventful helped bring John Edwards to Kentucky, a state oft neglected by presidential candidates. Sounds like the web is working, but Mashable points out that presidential candidates aren't actually personally invested in social media.
For those who want to take politics into their own hands, the good people at THUP have created an online game that lets users pick their candidates and the team behind them and campaign their way across the country, staking out political territory.
The Associated Press asked some of the presidential candidates their favorite and least foods (with amusing results). This naturally led Chow, a site for all things food previously mentioned here, to create an "Eat Sheet" that compared the candidates' tastes in one nifty chart. Mitt Romney loves hot dogs and Barack Obama loves chili. A match made in heaven?
Are you registered to vote? Are you sure? VotePoke will help anyone confirm if they are registered to vote for the upcoming election. I am newly registered after moving to a new home and the site did not have my information up, so I cannot verify if it actually works or not, but its worth a try.
Need more politics? Check out this previous post on tracking the presidential candidates online.
Labels: citizen journalism, maps
Elections 2.0: Tracking the Presidential candidates
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
It's not to early to start pumping out 2008 election coverage. There are a number of sites cropping up all over the web that can be used as both inspiration and as a resource. The PrezVid blog picks up the slack where the YouTube debates left off by collecting videos of the candidates' speeches and public appearances. 2decide's interactive table makes finding a candidate's position on a variety of issues a little more simple, even if the candidates haven't quite figured it out themselves.
What would election coverage be without a few great maps? Map the Candidates tracks the location of presidential wannabes from both sides of the aisle. The site is comprehensive and frequently updated. This Google Map shows where Democratic candidate John Edwards' campaign spots are airing around the country and contains embedded YouTube videos.
TechPresident keeps tabs on election-related issues, but more importantly keeps a running tally on Democratic and Republican candidates' Facebook supporters, MySpace friends and YouTube views. In case you're curious, Senator Obama leads the pack in all three categories with Senator Clinton coming in a close second.
The Hitwise Election 2008 Data Center takes this methodology a step further by calculating the top Democratic and Republican websites (Obama and Ron Paul respectively). The site also gauges the top political websites and search terms.
According to a Read/Write Web post, Web 2.0 tools like Facebook and Digg favor Democratic candidates. Democrats outnumber Republicans 5-to-1 on Facebook and 3-to-1 on MySpace, according to the site. Speaking of which, be sure to catch the now delayed Republican YouTube debates November 28. Should be informative if not entertaining.
What would election coverage be without a few great maps? Map the Candidates tracks the location of presidential wannabes from both sides of the aisle. The site is comprehensive and frequently updated. This Google Map shows where Democratic candidate John Edwards' campaign spots are airing around the country and contains embedded YouTube videos.
TechPresident keeps tabs on election-related issues, but more importantly keeps a running tally on Democratic and Republican candidates' Facebook supporters, MySpace friends and YouTube views. In case you're curious, Senator Obama leads the pack in all three categories with Senator Clinton coming in a close second.
The Hitwise Election 2008 Data Center takes this methodology a step further by calculating the top Democratic and Republican websites (Obama and Ron Paul respectively). The site also gauges the top political websites and search terms.
According to a Read/Write Web post, Web 2.0 tools like Facebook and Digg favor Democratic candidates. Democrats outnumber Republicans 5-to-1 on Facebook and 3-to-1 on MySpace, according to the site. Speaking of which, be sure to catch the now delayed Republican YouTube debates November 28. Should be informative if not entertaining.
Labels: citizen journalism, maps, social networking, video
Citizen Journalism: Speak up (and get paid for it)
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Associated Content is a budding citizen journalism effort. It's kind of like AP without the professional journalists and distribution system. Touted as "the people's media company, contributors submit original stories as well as images, audio and video. Associated Content reviews each submission and accepted pieces are paid between $3 and $20. Essentially, people report on what they care about with AC serving as a non-traditional news editing process.
Most media outlets kind of have to gauge what their listeners/viewers/readers want from their news. While there are tiplines, letters to the editor, call in shows and more recently comment-enabled websites, these are more reactionary than original sources of news. AskQuestions.org lets anyone with a computer ask the media-ready questions that are relevant to them. Questions include "How are public schools funded in America?" and " When will we run out of oil?" Its like having thousands of assignment editors.
UK-based Scoopt encourages aspiring paparazzi (or anyone in the right place at the right time) to sell their gotcha photos. Users upload their photos for review and Scoopt works as an agent to sell the submissions to newspapers, magazines and other media outlet. Published photos are paid a 40% royalty. The site takes great care to keep its users from turning into a wolfpack and has a detailed code of ethics.
Most media outlets kind of have to gauge what their listeners/viewers/readers want from their news. While there are tiplines, letters to the editor, call in shows and more recently comment-enabled websites, these are more reactionary than original sources of news. AskQuestions.org lets anyone with a computer ask the media-ready questions that are relevant to them. Questions include "How are public schools funded in America?" and " When will we run out of oil?" Its like having thousands of assignment editors.
UK-based Scoopt encourages aspiring paparazzi (or anyone in the right place at the right time) to sell their gotcha photos. Users upload their photos for review and Scoopt works as an agent to sell the submissions to newspapers, magazines and other media outlet. Published photos are paid a 40% royalty. The site takes great care to keep its users from turning into a wolfpack and has a detailed code of ethics.
Labels: citizen journalism
Why didn't I think of that? 20 Useful Websites that Inspire
Thursday, August 02, 2007
To prevent their imminent demise, news organizations are working to offer online services to readers that cannot be offered through broadcast or print products. Here are a few sites with unique offerings worth emulating:
Farecast predicts whether flight prices are going up or down and aggregates some of the cheapest air fare available on the net.
Ready for a good scare? This Google Maps mashup charts infectious disease outbreaks around the world.
Yahoo! Answers is a community of users that ask and answer questions that typically can't be answered simply by a search engine.
Flagxo lets users rate airports around the world on such things as wi-fi and outlet availability, lounges and transportation. Very useful information to know before traveling.
Half.com is the place for people to come together and buy or sell used books, music, movies and video games at a much lower price than retail.
Facebook rivals Myspace as one of the premier social networking sites. With the addition of Facebook applications the service will continue to grow.
Pandora suggests music that users may like based on their current faves. Best of all the service is free.
This social shopping community makes bookmarking chic clothes and decor a group effort.
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. My last search: Anna Sophia Robb.
Allmusic is like an encyclopedia of music. Find track listings for virtually any album, reviews and music clips.
TVGuide's television listings are presented in an easily scannable online format.
Weather.com is the most easy-to-use meteorological sites and has more weather-related information than anyone will ever need.
Yelp is the place for user-generated reviews for restaurants, clubs and more.
Rotten Tomatoes is a repository for movie reviews and showtimes. Films are rated "fresh" or "rotten" which makes its simple to determine instantly whether a movie will be good or bad.
WebMD provides valuable health information, tools for managing your health, and support for medical issues.
Buying a new car is tough. Auto Trader makes it a lot easier by allowing users to search for cars by ZIP, make, model, price, etc. and compare prices.
This site answers life's most important questions like how to cure a hangover, lie persuasively or convert to Buddhism.
There are a lot of compare and shop sites out there, but Mpire may be the most streamlined and easy to use.
Users can discover statistics about a nearby school, library or college. Simple, yet very informative.
Farecast predicts whether flight prices are going up or down and aggregates some of the cheapest air fare available on the net.
Ready for a good scare? This Google Maps mashup charts infectious disease outbreaks around the world.
Yahoo! Answers is a community of users that ask and answer questions that typically can't be answered simply by a search engine.
Flagxo lets users rate airports around the world on such things as wi-fi and outlet availability, lounges and transportation. Very useful information to know before traveling.
Half.com is the place for people to come together and buy or sell used books, music, movies and video games at a much lower price than retail.
Facebook rivals Myspace as one of the premier social networking sites. With the addition of Facebook applications the service will continue to grow.
Pandora suggests music that users may like based on their current faves. Best of all the service is free.
This social shopping community makes bookmarking chic clothes and decor a group effort.
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. My last search: Anna Sophia Robb.
Allmusic is like an encyclopedia of music. Find track listings for virtually any album, reviews and music clips.
TVGuide's television listings are presented in an easily scannable online format.
Weather.com is the most easy-to-use meteorological sites and has more weather-related information than anyone will ever need.
Yelp is the place for user-generated reviews for restaurants, clubs and more.
Rotten Tomatoes is a repository for movie reviews and showtimes. Films are rated "fresh" or "rotten" which makes its simple to determine instantly whether a movie will be good or bad.
WebMD provides valuable health information, tools for managing your health, and support for medical issues.
Buying a new car is tough. Auto Trader makes it a lot easier by allowing users to search for cars by ZIP, make, model, price, etc. and compare prices.
This site answers life's most important questions like how to cure a hangover, lie persuasively or convert to Buddhism.
There are a lot of compare and shop sites out there, but Mpire may be the most streamlined and easy to use.
Users can discover statistics about a nearby school, library or college. Simple, yet very informative.
Labels: citizen journalism, maps, social networking
Regular Joes (and Janes) take over CNN
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Monday night's CNN/YouTube debate was a step in the right direction in involving the public in the democratic process. People from all over the country were invited to submit videos on YouTube of questions to be posed to the Democratic candidates. Although the questions were filtered, they were less rigid and staid than previous debates (especially "What don't you like about the candidate to your left?", see the answer here.) Read a recap of the debate at Slate.
The YouTube aspect seemed like sort of a novelty to the CNN reporters who advertised the debate in the days leading up to the event (one reporter asked whether she should be concerned about her job), but hopefully this widely televised interpretation of citizen journalism will inspire similar ventures by other news organizations. Be sure to catch the Republican candidates' debate Sept 17 on CNN.
Labels: citizen journalism
