Get Off the Bus

Columbia Journalism Review by Amanda Michel | Mar. 5, 2009 (Special Report)

The future of pro-am journalism

Collectively, we could do what a single reporter or traditional news organization could not. We dispatched people to report on dozens of events happening simultaneously around the country. We distributed research tasks among hundreds of volunteers, instead of a handful of paid reporters working full-time for weeks. Ground-level access, networked intelligence, and distributed labor became our editorial mainstays. More than twelve thousand people eventually ... Full Story »

Posted by Kaizar Campwala

See All Reviews »

View

3.6

by Patricia L'Herrou - Mar. 5, 2009

a lengthy description of a news project involving hundreds or more of people, primarily amateur some professional journalists, the idea to promote validity for this type of partnership as a less costly adjunct to the current media. it is detailed with many descriptions of the pros working with those who aren't, along with a few of broking ground in news. not here is any direct comparison with either costs or effectiveness.

it sounds as if it were quite exciting for all involved. i can't tell from this whether or not i think this would be as good as or better than what's out here now.