Introducing citizen journalism to “the” journalism school

1. Introducing citizen journalism to “the” journalism school Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D. OhMyNews International Citizen Journalism Forum

2. The first. We say the finest. http://www.journalism.missouri.edu • Missouri School of Journalism was started in 1908 • Early participant in global journalism education • Developed participatory curriculum, “The Missouri Method.” • Real world publications, real journalists as professors Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

3. Inspired by others • OhMyNews was well known to professors and popular with our Korean students • Launch of Northwest Voice generated a faculty discussion. • Dean Mills recognized the potential and asked us to move quickly. • Proposed in late May 2004, launched Oct. 1. Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

4. A challenge to tradition • Missouri is the home of newspaper journalism education • Some faculty questioned the ability to maintain credibility • Could we teach a journalism where “we” were not in control? Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

5. New journalism skills • “As more and more news organizations adopt community/citizen/open-source journalism ventures, they'll need to learn how to run them. • “Covering stories and collecting, cultivating, sharing stories are very different things. Helping others to share their lives is still journalism, and it needs to be taught.” Brian Hamman graduate student Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

6. Is there a future for journalists? • YES -- both professional and citizen journalists • Blogs pose both a threat and an opportunity • The power relationship in information is being re-negotiated • Journalists provide continuity and quality control • Story tellers become story guides Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

7. Readers reach readers Citizen journalism succeeds where others have failed. • “I have seen newspaper companies spend thousand of dollars annually to determine what readers expect. Few of their findings, however, are ever implemented. • “The greatest benefit of what we have done with MyMissourian is we have given newsroom leaders an inexpensive and effective way to give readers what they truly want.” Hans K. Meyer graduate student Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

8. The arguments “Decency” - How do we treat profanity and adult topics? “Commercialism” - What about the promotion of a business, organization, religion, etc.? “Literacy” - How much editing and rewriting should we do? “Banalism” Is anything just too stupid to appear on the site? If so, how dumb is dumb? Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

9. The policies “Decency” No profanity, no nudity - use normal newspaper standards of propriety “Commercialism” Don’t ban businesses that self-promote, but work with them to produce copy of general interest. “Literacy” Keep editing to a minimum, focusing on readability rather than style. Avoid jargon and cultural slang that can be misinterpreted. “Banalism” Journalists are poor judges of the banal. Rather than say anything is too low-brow or too silly, we will just find an appropriate category for it and let the public judge it. Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

10. The Four Rules • No profanity • No nudity • No personal attacks • No attacks on race, religion, national origin, gender or sexual orientation Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

11. The end of “NO” • “I worked in newspapers for seven years, and as an editor most of my dealings with the public were about telling people “no” due to limited space. • NO, we can't cover your event. • NO, we can't run your youth baseball photo in the newspaper. • NO, your story idea isn't good enough for publication. • “The open source format takes a medium with limitless file space and allows us to finally say ”YES" to the public.” Jeremy Littau graduate student Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

12. Technology goals • High level of usability • Minimal technical support • Little or no software cost • Design flexibility Curt Wohleber Missourian Online editor http://www.mamboserver.com/ Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

13. Small menu of categories Each section has a team of students Graduate students manage the teams Simple design, simple categories Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

14. The American version of citizen journalism • Much less emphasis on politics • High interest in “family” topics • Premium value on the “comment” • Allows newspapers to answer their critics Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

15. Earth Day:Natural news • Annual festival celebrates environmental awareness • Provided wireless laptops so citizens could comment on the spot Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

16. Earth Day: Picture it • Loaned digital cameras to citizens to document the festival Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

17. History:Then & Now • Museum supplies historical photos • We shoot the current view • Public invited to comment Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

18. A Korean perspective • There is no great need for alternative journalism in U.S. • A major difference from OhMyNews • No clear issue to draw concern • Unclear direction -- is it journalism? • Provide a perspective on societal issues • Take initiative -- do not wait • Soliciting news is too passive Ho-Jin Yoon graduate student Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school

19. Into the future • Print edition scheduled for fall • Daily teasers in the morning newspaper • Increased connection with high school journalism classes • Addition of student-written blogs and index of local blogs • Class that focuses on “journalism of sharing” Citizen journalism at the world’s oldest journalism school