Margaret’s 3rd year journalism blog

The idea of a citizen driven news agency derived from his belief that government information should be readily available to the tax-payers.

The agency gives citizens the ability to set the agenda and have an influential contribution to topics of interest. Extremely successful, the site attracts around 700,000 hits each day. Effectively, the online advertising market is growing, as more and more people get onto the web to read their daily news.

However, critics argue that quality, accuracy, plagiarism and identity issues are risks with this type of journalism. The agency affirms that many stories are cut when quality or value is lacking, identity is checked through a government sponsored program and editors check facts before publication. The agency’s director, Jean Min said the millions of watchful eyes help to keep the integrity of the organisation in check, and therefore eliminate ideas of agenda pushing or avoidance of important issues.

As of mid-2007, the journalist base submitted around 200 stories every day, with the editorial team managing the stories based on quality and newsworthiness. The agency also uploads web video which raises the concern that unskilled citizens are taking on the already multi-skilled role of a video journalist. On the other hand, they may capture hard-hitting news scoops.

The eradication of the journalism profession is another concern; where eventually quality is substituted for quantity. After all, it’s difficult to make a living from, with the news agency paying anywhere from $2 per article to $50 for a top breaking story.