YouTube Opens Channel For Citizen Journos

Citizen journalists from around the world can see their work side by side on a new YouTube channel.

Citizen News says it is dedicated to hosting video content produced by citizen journalists and aims to offer a single go-to location for non-mainstream news.

According to ReadWriteWeb: “YouTube now wants to bring some of the focus on citizen journalism back to their site, where so many of today’s citizen journalists post and share their work.”

YouTube visitors are also encouraged to flag up examples of citizen journalism pieces posted elsewhere on the video-sharing site so they can be added to the channel.

A post from the people at Citizen News explains the ethos behind the venture: “Thanks to better, cheaper, and easier access to video equipment, there’s an amazing amount of news being reported on YouTube every single day by citizens in all corners of the globe.

“You’re conducting interviews with local community leaders, doing weekly reports on the latest campus news for your school television station, and investigating untold stories you think the world should know about.

“This stuff is fantastic, but we want to see more from you all and to bring more citizen journalists into the fold.”

Among the current favourite videos on the channel is a report on a camp for displaced persons in Sudan and coverage of a visit to Oregon by Democratic nomination hopeful Barack Obama.