Post on 31-Mar-2015
News without bordersNews without borders
In 2005 an independent video news service was announced
What made The Real News unique?
• No government funding• No corporate funding• No advertising• Viewer supported television news
….was it possible?
Initial indicators promised much• The beta website received more than 60,000
visitors within the first month• The website contained a business plan and
some supporter videos• Emails supported the belief that enough
people were dissatisfied by television news and would financially support this new offering
• Donations came rolling in
True development began
• Seed funding sought from foundations• Donation outreach stepped up• Editorial approach framed• Design of news site began• Search for independent journalists broadened• Testing for scalable online video production
began
Why video?
• Our desired audience was not progressive
• Our desired audience was those that watch the network news every night
• People want to see what’s happening in their world eg: 911
Video online – a novel concept
Was online video viable?
In a report published in July 2007, just weeks before The Real News posted its first story, Pew Research Centre in the U.S. published the following research statistics.
The majority of adult internet users in the U.S. (57%) report watching or downloading some type of online video content and 19% do so on a typical day
A global team assembled
The Real News regular production of The Real News regular production of news stories in September 2007news stories in September 2007
The perfect marriage
Social media
explosion
I wanna I wanna play tooplay too
Volunteers and citizens engaged
• We had more volunteers wanting to help than we knew what to do with
BUT
• For those wanting to contribute editorial support, we used our own definition of citizen journalism
Definition is important
Jay Rosen, professor of journalism at New York University says “citizen journalism is when the
people, formerly known as the audience employ the press tools in their possession to inform one
another.”
That’s cool. Why don’t we do that?
The Real News promises:Daily news imbued with verifiable facts, history
and context.
The Real News was realized as a global news service working with independent
professional journalists that could withstand challenges through due diligence in research
and accountability in reporting.
The Real News Citizen Journalist
Eye-witnessResearcherVideographerChase producer
Let’s dive deeperLet’s dive deeper
US ElectionInauguration Day…the long road to DCInauguration Day…the long road to DC
Stored onlineStore it onlineStore it online
Stored online by candidate or theme
Initial programming budget
Free to use, update, store
No user limit
The Real News Cafe
Social tech + political debate
The Toronto chapter
Chapter Development
Lessons I’ve learned about collaboration and citizen engagementApply human resources and time
Be prepared – toolkits, training, tips
Manage expectations
Utilize the social technology but –
Don’t rely on social tech to do everything
My vision for the future of
Citizen Media
There’s enough room for everyone to play There’s enough room for everyone to play There’s enough room for everyone to play There’s enough room for everyone to play
My vision for the future of media
Secret sauce for collaboration
• collaboration means building a solid relationship
• Collaboration means establishing trust• True collaboration means letting go• True collaboration is hard – ego, legal
frameworks, accessibility• True collaboration takes courage
The opportunity is still available
• BBC and CNN are trapped within a national framework
• The Real News could tap into existing opportunities to collaborate with like-minded organizations globally
• They could share editorial principles• Self-finance so resources are not stretched• Utilize citizen journalists to bolster global teams• Better utilize social technology to bolster profile
and engagement
The future of news has no borders
• seascape
No borders…let’s driveNo borders…let’s drive