Comments on: London, City of Opportunity: Journalism Edition

By: Hashtag Debate in London | Brian Frank

Hashtag Debate in London | Brian Frank — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:57:40 +0000

[...] then maybe they/we can get together and agree on some standards. Personally I think there should be more co-operation in this space — but that challenge goes way beyond the topic of [...]

By: Brian Frank

Brian Frank — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:52:57 +0000

Glad you responded Greg, and glad you mentioned "learning curve." It's something all of us are going through -- pros and amateurs alike.

After writing and rewriting my response a couple of times, I think it comes down to this:

A healthy community/economy is good for everyone.

More specifically, I think if we are engaging each other more, then it becomes more appealing for other people to become engaged along with us... And more engagement means more traffic, and as that increases so do your chances of influencing policy and recovering your costs.

By: Greg Fowler

Greg Fowler — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:08:09 +0000

You mentioned my tweets (personal editorializing) but not the live webstream (reporting). I'm making a conscious effort to separate the two, and I think it shows some progression on my 'citizen journalist' learning curve.

As a citizen journalist I'd readily embrace the opportunity to get some direction from the professionals, but what would motivate them to engage and empower us interlopers?

Also, I'm not opposed to the collaborative approach that you refer to, but citizen journalism doesn't always necessarily aim to be entirely free. I'm spending a considerable amount of time and effort trying to provide information that isn't otherwise as available, and it'd be nice if I could at least cover my costs. So from that perspective, I guess I'm stuck about half-way between the pros and the "open" approach that you're advocating.

By: Brian Frank

Brian Frank — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:52:57 +0000

By: Greg Fowler

Greg Fowler — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:08:09 +0000