NowPublic has declared "crowd-powered" news reports of terrorist attacks in Mumbai as a climactic moment in a year in which citizen journalism proved its mettle. The India tragedy heads a list of 'Top 10 Moments In User-Generated News' determined by editors at the Vancouver-based startup.
NowPublic's '2008: A Year in User-Generated News' serves as a snapshot and analysis of the seismic shift in the ways we use to gather, share and consume news and information.
"2008 not only proved the concept of user-generated news, but also tipped the scales," said Leonard Brody, co-founder and CEO of NowPublic. "The pillars of mainstream media, including the Associated Press, BBC, CBS and CNN have all made significant efforts to embrace the new model. The culmination of this, of course, was Columbia University's recent announcement that the Pulitzers will now include 'Internet-only' news."
"In today's highly wired and mobile world, everyone has a digital soapbox," said Rachel Nixon, global news director for NowPublic. "No longer the preserve of a few, crowd-powered media formats began to be widely used by anyone wanting to get their message out and connect. Concerned communities used a variety of platforms to share emergency information about natural disasters. And activists used these tools to circumvent and pre-empt official information sources, helping to change the direction of protests, or getting information out when authorities were slow to provide it."
Chosen by NowPublic editors, these are the 10 most important moments of the year in user-generated news:
- Mumbai Attacks
- Natural disasters: Sharing Emergency Information
- Olympic Torch Relay Protests in San Francisco
- Obama and "Bittergate"
- Republican Convention Protests Change Tack
- Ushahidi: Crowdsourcing Crisis Information in Africa
- CNN's News Wire Plans
- Mob Rule: Mark Zuckerberg's SXSW Interview
- Twitter Gets US student Out of Egyptian Jail
- False Report About Steve Jobs Heart Attack
