Student reporters “announced” the stories using social media tools.
These could become pro-am curated beats in Chicago
Locate events at libraries. Clubs that meet regularly are one place to look for citizen journalists
This civic has had a newsletter continuously published for more than 60 years. Look at the issues and topics. They are pretty typical for any neighborhood.
The northside had civic associations. On the south and westside, they usually have block clubs.
North Mayfair is one neighborhood in the 39th Ward of Chicago.
There are some pioneers in this area. One of my favorite is Chicago Talks, a nuts and bolts neighborhood information hub that keeps its digital ear to the ground on everything from housing foreclosures to bike lanes. Fueled by citizen journalism, the site is constantly receiving and regurgitating the latest information about crime control, school budgets, and library hours.
But such work is tough to keep going, and even tougher to keep funded. “In a democracy, the very idea of second-class citizenship is unacceptable,” Informing Communities warns. “Yet, for many, second-class information citizenship is looming.”
What is a placeblog? | Placeblogger
Lisa Williams sums up some important basic ideas about citizen journalism for everyone, including professional journalists.
Chicagoans inspired by the Minnesota base e-democracy.org are launching the Chicago Region Civic Forum on the e-democracy groupserver platform. We invite Chicago Bloggers to spread the word as we evolve the meme of civic participation.
We’re hopeful that community and neighborhood local issues forums will be established throughout the region. Forums will not become active until we reach a certain threshhold of subscribers.
Gordon D, part of the Chicago Region Civic Forum Steering committee blogs about the potential of e-democracy at this turning point in our political culture.
