Protecting media freedom cost a lot.

Almost every day we can find news related to killed or kidnapped journalists and citizen journalists, blocked internet and websites.
This repression makes fight for free speech and press constant.

Today, when almost every house and citizen of the world has the tools to report news by himself, it’s unthinkable that something like internet ban can stop people from reading and receiving the news. That process is unstoppable.

Numerous media corporations upgraded their work, they joined up forces with citizens and included them in news coverage. They explore and represent excellent news content and quality is better than ever, thanks to technology.
Media gets and gives best and fastest results.

So, that’s worth keeping and developing.

People who love, read and follow daily news or news in general, surely have noticed that there is no lack of content. If possible, someone might say, there is too much information, news, uploads…

I think that there can be no such a thing. Information and news are more than welcome in my world.

The thing is that we really have so many options today that finding and reading news became a sort of a maze walk.

We all love different content and topics, so from the ocean of news and social media which we receive, it’s good that we can choose and sort. But trying to find the right ones, best content and yet not too long, valid but not too boring can be a bit … annoying.

So if you are a beginner or just confused, best thing to avoid losing yourself is to try out these few useful tips.

- Be sure to use all the things networks offer to narrow down your choice of news

Every social network has its own rhythm and rules. They also have shortcuts, reminders and lots of cool easier ways.

Always use every one of them because it’ll make your online time better and more fun.

- Categorize

Make a category and sort the sites where you like to read news – funny, tech, politics…. This way you’ll have your favorite sites grouped by your interest and you’ll wander less.

– Search

Surf and search every day a bit so that you can find new stuff. We all easy get used on same sites and make a habit out of it.

It’s not a bad thing, but Internet is so big, new sites get launched every day, and it would be a waste not to try them.

All in all, we can really dig deep in this rich and amazing mass of news and enjoy being a part of today media.

One Day On Earth 12.12.12

A day when all citizens can connect their 24-hour video stories throughout the world in one. The project that documents numerous intense human adventures during an entire day.

Lots of things happen in a day, lots of things can be recorded. It’s not all the time breaking news and crucial events, it’s life itself.

Grassroots movements have many interesting ideas and ways. This one is indeed amazing media spectacle which gathers all possible diversities from each and every country worldwide.

Thanks to all the present technology everyone can be a citizen journalist and a filmmaker, no matter the education, age or place. On this day people are just joined in common purpose, to record One Day On Earth.

One Day On Earth is a perfect combination of all the online media qualities, technology and creative people.

Great thing also is that this will be archived as an unique mixture of different cultures, traditions, scenes and artistry of the one who shoots.

Prove strength and power of media today and be part of this inspiring community !

Last few days media and online communities had two similar and at the same time different events to talk and be angry about. One is related to citizen journalists and other to professional photojournalist. Many could not wait to talk about how citizen journalism is unreliable. Many also could not wait to criticize professional journalism.

Some call it bad ethics or lack of ethics, some call it mistake and some are just angry and insulted.

The one related to citizen journalists was met with hostility towards citizen journalism in general and was used to prove lack of ethics. As if there were not enough all the trouble and pain which Hurricane Sandy brought to the people, but someone had to joke about it by posting fake photos. Social media and citizen journalism, two important media tools in crisis instead of fresh information brought confusion.

Bad way to promote yourself and your work. Citizen journalists should know better and avoid posting fake photos, videos or false news.

Other scandal is related to professional photojournalist who took a photo of a horrific accident. One say he was doing his job, he was acting professional, others blame his editor for posting the photo.

Some say photojournalist should try to save a poor man. But we all react differently in dangerous situations. We aren’t all action superheroes, some freeze, some run. The question is how would anyone behave in such a situation.

People like to judge. And the only ones who are hurt the most with this picture, is the family of the victim.

Basic thing with these two incidents is that no one is infallible. Both citizen and professional journalists make mistakes and bad choices. It’s up to people who do the job of journalist and those who are citizen journalists to know that good news and reporting find their audience only if they are valid.

Media needs and requires truth and facts, nothing less.

And though many think it goes without saying that democracy exists everywhere and it maybe seems even ridiculous that we still talk about it, that there is no normal person who would try to restrict freedom of speech to another, there are still many who would appreciate nothing more than waking up in a democratic state.

Luckily, new powerful means for such cause came with Internet and online life.

Things that turned impossible to possible, things that provided all necessary for free speech and avoiding censorship are now ordinary everyday tools.

Those are :

- Citizen journalism

- Social media

- Blogging

Citizen journalism was there when professional journalism couldn’t enter the country, when there weren’t enough reporters to go down to the core. Citizen journalists were and still are those who bring news, change and democracy on their shoulders. Thanks to them numerous breaking and daily news are served to the public. Credits for their work citizen journalists seek in better society.

Social media was there when mainstream media failed, when Internet was banned and censored. Social media has done so much for many people and countries conveying prohibited news, and thus became an indispensable part of life. The safest carrier of news, and the quickest to verify, in conjunction with citizen journalists and bloggers, social media is unbeatable.

Blogging comes as addition to traditional media, as personal opinion and view of every citizen who wants to speak up. Blogging has grown into an online media giant, some bloggers became almost celebrities. It takes a lot of courage to note and to publish your thoughts about democracy, government and all the things you find unjust. But some bloggers did all that and more, they took their present and tried to create a better future.

Democracy is much appreciated, whether we live in it or dream about it. But it should not ever be taken for granted.

More about this interesting new website you can read in our interview with Blottr founder Adam Baker:

Q: What is NewsPoint?

A: NewsPoint is the new content syndication division from Blottr and is used by news organisations around the world. It gives subscribers access to continually updated global news content and thousands of pieces of footage from its archive.

Q: How NewsPoint works?

A: NewsPoint is a self-service, web-based platform that enables subscribers to login and download content on demand. Content is added to NewsPoint throughout the day.

Q: You are connected to Blottr. Does it mean you are also related to citizen journalism?

A: NewsPoint is a Blottr service. All of Blottr’s award winning citizen journalism news content is available for subscribers to download and use.

We expect NewsPoint to raise exposure for citizen journalism around the world.

Q: What audience are you interested in?

A: NewsPoint is used by publishers, news companies, content businesses, freelance journalists and analysts who need access to unique, raw, compelling and timely news footage from around the world.

Q: What are your goals and plans?

A: Our vision has always been to empower those witnessing events to report them, thus exposing unreported global news, as it happens.

We overall goal is to raise the profile of citizen journalism around the world. The introduction of NewsPoint helps strengthen this vision.

We wish best of luck with NewsPoint to our Blottr friends !

Today, citizen journalists are highly involved in daily reporting, many became heroes over the night and number of prizes were awarded to anonymous and known brave citizen journos.

In the meantime, things happened. Wars, accidents, tragedies, natural disasters and many positive events. Governments were overthrown, protests erupted and spacecraft launched. Life happened.

All of those captured by constantly ready citizen journalists.

Because, as their skills grow and evolve, so has technology, allowing them to show and improve their quality.

Numerous new projects were launched, many applications and lots of countries started educational training programs for citizens who want to become citizen journalists.

So, citizen journalism is no longer new phenomenon. It’s an equal part of media.

People use it, people do it, it’s a lifestyle.

Citizen journalism found stronghold in people who see media in fresh light, who like challenge and have the strength to prove their capabilities.

Simply, citizen journalism has put down roots.

Everything about Glopho you can find here, in our interview with Simon Walker, Glopho CEO.

Q: What is Glopho and how it works ?

A: Glopho is a news photo-sharing community where the users themselves make the news by defining what they consider to be important and what they want to make public. It is centred on a website hub but supported by iOS and Android apps that allow users to both shoot photos and upload them, then view the photos currently live on the site.

Q: Glopho is interesting name. For me it’s short for global photography. Am I right ?

A: Absolutely – made up word based exactly as you guessed on global photography.

Q: What was your motive for starting Glopho ?

A: I worked as a photojournalist for a range of national and international newspapers and magazines for 15 years before becoming News Picture Editor at The Times. During this 20 year period I was always at the cutting edge of technology in photography and news gathering and when I saw the emergence of ‘citizen-journalism’ and the massive increase in photo-sharing it seemed only natural that this is where the future lay and I left the traditional media world to set up Glopho and immerse myself in this new phenomena.

Q: Tell us something about Glopho apps

A: We have always seen the apps as sitting alongside the website and adding to the experience rather that replacing it. As such we released the apps first as a simple way of shooting photos and uploading the results but we have just released our latest versions which enable the user to also view the latest photos on the site as well as those of their followers and those they follow. Over the coming months we have many more updates planned for both iOS and Android that will see the features and functionality go beyond even what is available currently on the website itself.
We also have a very basic shoot and upload Blackberry version available.

Q: What is the main link between Glopho and citizen journalism ?

A: I see citizen journalism as a critical part of the news gathering experience for the 21st century. With a camera to be found in most people’s pockets the potential to capture everything is pretty much upon us and it will be about how we decipher this digital noise rather than how we capture it that will determine what we call news in the future.

Q: Speaking of which , what do you think about citizen journalism ?

A: As blasphemous as it may sound to my colleagues of old, I am as excited about where citizen journalism may take us as I was when I first used a digital camera in the mid 1990′s.

Q: What is your vision of citizen journalism in the future ?

A: I think it is inevitable that we will see the citizen journalist becoming an important part of the news gathering process and the possibility of crowd-sourcing providing a genuine hierarchy for what’s important and valued becoming a reality very quickly. The opportunity for us all to take control collectively of the news agenda is an exciting prospect.

Q: Glopho in the future .

A: My vision for Glopho is that it will continue to grow and as more and more people discover it and understand what it represents, the more it will become a powerful tool for all of us to shape the news. We are all becoming increasing visually literate and Glopho is poised to satisfy the demand there is to sort our digital photos – those we want to keep private and those we want to share with the world.

Besides us there is 39 more websites which also, with their work and writing, can help students in their study and research. They are all related to journalism in own unique form – digital, online, photojournalism, local, data, citizen journalism and many more.

It is a great pleasure to know that your work is useful for the young and educated people and that it can be helpful in creating their path for the future journalism career.

Younger generations always lead the world and assisting them in gaining all the information they need is a privilege and obligation. The more students understand the concept of citizen journalism, the brighter is the future for both journalism and citizen journalism.

One of the purposes of our blog is to be a guide for citizen journalism and we can say that we are thrilled that students already recognized it. We have already been interviewed by several students for their essays and as citizen journalism information provider.

This is also a recognition to citizen journalism, considering that it is accepted as part of journalism education and training and as active part of new age media and journalism.

All about ICMA you can read in our following interview with dr. Joachim Musholt, Chairman of the European Youth4Media Network association.

Q: Tell us about 2nd International Citizen Media Award 2012 – what does it take for someone to become a participant ?

A: The idea behind the International Citizen Media Award (ICMA) is to support private and non-commercial video and audio producers. So, basically everybody who produces video and audio clips in his free time or as part of a citizen media production can participate in it.

Q: What are your goals and what kind of content do you expect ?

A: Of course, we hope for a wide range of contributions from people of different ages from all around the world. Since this year’s topic is “Civic involvement and solidarity between the generations” we hope to receive unique ideas and approaches concerning differences and solidarity between young and old people. 

Q: Do you have categories and what are they?

A: The ICMA will be awarded in two categories: “Video” with a prize money of 1000€ and “Audio” with a prize money of 300€.

Q: What was your motive for this inspiring contest ?

A: The organisations behind the ICMA (European Youth4Media Network, Bürgerhaus Bennohaus and bvbam) are working and involved in the field of citizen media for years. We believe in the goals and the original idea behind citizen media, but while we organised many projects all across Europe, we noticed how undeveloped it remains in many countries and that even countries like Germany are trying to reduce the support for it.
There are many national awards, but we decided to create an award which simply includes everyone to make the idea between citizen media more popular and to encourage people to be part of it.

Q: When is the deadline for applications and when and where will take place the award ceremony ?

A: Deadline is the 31st of July 2012. Until then, everyone is free to send the application via post or online. More information on this can be found on www.icm-award.com.
The award ceremony will take place on the 29th of September 2012 in the Bürgerhaus Bennohaus, Münster in Germany.

Q: Given that you put citizen media in the foreground, do you think that citizen participation in the media is vital for better quality and variety of news?

A: Yes. Nowadays, the mass media reached a point where many situations and problems all around the world are simply overlooked because of certain interests. Citizen media offer the possibility to include other, alternative opinions which might not represent the majority as its presented by the mass media, but are still vital for a balanced and healthy opinion making.
Just think about this: When was the last time you heard about Belarus in the main news? It’s a country within the heart of Europe and is in such a critical position for years already. Since the metro bombing there were nearly no reports.

Or the Euro crisis: How many alternate opinions do you hear in the main news? There are actually many critics with different and highly interesting opinions, still no mass media publisher is willing to offer them a platform to express their opinion. There are reasons for that – reasons which wouldn’t work with citizen media, because they are based on the freedom of opinion – for everyone.

Q: What is your opinion about citizen journalism ?

A: Citizen journalism had and has one main issue: How much professionalism is allowed and necessary? We think it’s important to provide the basics: How to do your job, how to use equipment and media tools. There should be many opportunities for everyone to learn these basics. Afterwards, it’s about providing communication channels. The internet makes things easier, but we believe that a certain degree of organisation is necessary to make citizen journalism more available to everyone who’s looking for it. And also to people who are not looking for it.

Q: And how do you see the future of citizen journalism and citizen media ?

A: It depends on the perspective. Many countries and citizens only now start to realize how important citizen media and journalism can be, while other countries are reducing the support for already existing structures. With the rise of social media, a new aspect came to life during the last couple of years. It’s important to watch this development and to find ways to include good, maybe even older ideas with the new possibilities in order to support citizen media in general.

Q: What are your plans for International Citizen Media Award in the future?

A: First of all, we want to keep it alive and, of course, make it more popular. The whole idea is to support people’s involvement in citizen media. And as long as this idea is alive in some people’s mind, the award will grow. That’s what we hope for. And we want to thank all of you who support and promote this idea.