Citizen Journalism

From blogs to websites

So you want to become a citizen journalist but aren't sure where to begin? Here are the basic things you'll need to do to get started.

A Focus on Areas Often Ignored by Larger News Outlets

As a citizen journalist you're essentially an independent operator, free of the constraints and bureaucracy of a professional newsroom. But working on your own can make it difficult to gauge whether you're really doing the best work possible. Here are some tips to help ensure you're not just a citizen journalist, but a good citizen journalist.

Conflicts of Interest - How Journalists Can Avoid Conflicts of Interest

The Internet is where it's at as far as the news business. So if you're an aspiring journalist, the time to establish an online presence for yourself is now. Many employers Google the names of job applicants, and the more good stuff that shows up, the better. So use websites, blogs, Facebook and Twitter to create an online archive of your...

Sort Out the Great Content From the Merely So-So Stuff

Get Close, Focus on Sound

An Ambitious Site With Growing Pains

A Citizen Journalism Website With a Global Reach

More and more citizen and professional journalists are starting their own websites or blogs, driven by the need not just to archive their work, but to create an online presence - a brand - for themselves.

Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites have gotten a reputation as places where users routinely post the most mundane details of their daily lives to their closest friends. But a growing number of journalists are using Facebook and similar sites to help them find sources for stories, then spread the word to readers once those stories are published online.

A growing number of journalists are using Twitter as a reporting tool the same way an earlier generation of reporters used notebooks and cellphones. It's also an effective way to promote one's stories once they're published.

Whether you're a professional reporter, citizen journalist or j-school student, it's more important than ever that you create an online presence for yourself, and the best way to do that is to start your own website or blog. Once you've done that, create a Facebook page and start Twittering. Here are some cheap and easy ways to do that.

The Tools of the Trade

Finding Newsworthy Stories To Write About

Start With a National News Story, Then Uncover The Local Impact

You can have continually updated news headlines on your website or blog.

Which Works Best In Most Situations?

An Interconnected World of Blogs and Bloggers

Can Blogs Serve a Function Once Performed By Newspapers?

Follow Your Interests - And Keep a Local Focus

Create Your Own Website To Showcase Your Citizen Journalism

Use digital video as a citizen journalist

A Step-by-Step Tutorial

Citizen journalism websites