We have a broadband connection at our house so it isn't too bad on downloading information even in comparison to the rest of the world that is burning up the internet with speed. But for the most part the USA is lagging versus the parts of the world that have truly embraced the high speed connection world. Go ahead and take this test to compare where you stand in your State, in the nation and in comparison to internet connections around the world. And please remember that many of the nations that have better or similar connections than you are paying less for it.

When I look at my own results, where our internet connection and most US users' internet connections really lag is in the uploading of information. Something that can be considered a serious issue when you think about Freedom of Speech and getting information out in any Citizen Journalists' world. And when you consider that we have the fiber optics and technology to hit some serious Terabits for connection speeds, it makes setting standards of 100 Megabits for ten years down the road seem like a slow walk that won't even keep pace with the parts of the world that invest heavily in moving forward quickly on this stuff.

In other words, by the time we reach the FCC goals those standards will probably be near obsolete in other parts of the world. And we will still be lagging.

Below the fold are some recent articles from SpeedMatters.org's Blog where they are embracing the FCC's new standards which will be an improvement. But I honestly think we can and should do better and it starts with thinking faster NOW.

The Icelandic Modern Media Initiative is seeking to create an international safe haven for journalism. it's an amazing project that could have an international ripple effect on journalism.

The Online Journalism Review has a great article up.

There ought to be no special class of citizen called a "journalist." Anyone who does journalism, even if for just a moment in their lives, ought to enjoy the protections of the First Amendment when they choose to speak or to publish. Otherwise, we are ceding to unelected corporate employers the power to determine who gets First Amendment rights, or not.

Read more

Oh, boy -- the slings and arrows are just beginning to fly, and this time it looks like FOX News may have bitten off more than it can chew. And it got bitten back in return. Check out the following video from Media Matters TV (Hat-tip Bob in ABQ of DelphiForums and the Huffington Post):

For more information on this, see How Fox Justifies News Distortion as well as the tag Fox News and Citizen Journalist News Corpse.

On July 9, the following article appeared on the Reuter's blog:

A is for abattoir; Z is for ZULU: All in the Handbook of Journalism

It's pretty good news for journalists -- aspiring, existing or otherwise -- who are serious about their craft.

The handbook includes

sections on standards and values; a guide to operations; a sports style guide and a section of specialised guidance on such issues as personal investments by journalists, dealing with threats and complaints and reporting information found on the internet.

Why are they doing this? Apparently, for several reasons that are listed within the article:

Among them:

• Transparency: At a time when trust is an endangered commodity in the financial and media worlds, it’s important that news consumers see the guidelines our journalists follow.
  
• Service: As we’ve seen over the past decade, the barriers to publishing have dropped so that anyone with an idea and a computer can be a publisher. But it’s also become clear that publishers have a varying standard of truth, fairness and style. Our handbook is a good place for budding journalists to begin.
  
• Geography: Reuters serves a global audience and the handbook recognises the cultural and political differences that our journalists face in reporting for the world. This is a handbook not just for English-language journalists in the United Kingdom or the United States, but for wherever English is used.

That's good enough for me.  ePluribus Media has, since its inception, provided a section called the Citizen Journalism Toolbox; coupled with the Reuters Handbook of Journalism, there are now some pretty hefty weapons in the online arsenal for citizen journalists, bloggers, teachers, hobbyists, students and the public at large.

The game is changing; online interaction and information exchange is constantly evolving, and by finding as well as adhering to a set of standards that help us communicate effectively, the public "power of the people" to share information and stay informed in a world awash in propaganda and spin has just taken another step forward.

Thanks, Reuters.

Posted wth permission by Nicholas Benton/owner,editor of the Falls Church News Press

by Nicholas Benton

“Cities Without Newspapers,” shouts the cover headline of this month’s edition of the American Journalism Review. It announces the story by U.S.A. Today legal affairs editor Rachel Smolkin that paints yet another grim picture of where traditional urban daily newspapers have gone and are heading.

Why is the newspaper industry important?

Why must it be saved? Is it because it's a bastion of information necessary to keep the public informed and to hold accountable those who "serve" in elected office, or is it important to save the industry because of its historic roots, massive size or simply due to the potential influence it could have on the current depression-like recession?

Dan Kennedy of The Guardian UK hits the nail on the head with his recent article, posted Tuesday 12 May 2009:

The challenge isn't to save newspapers – it's to save journalism.

A little further on, he elaborates on this by further defining the purpose of journalism:

The real value that newspapers provide, whether in print or online, is organisation, editing and reputation. Rather than spurning citizen journalists and bloggers, newspapers should embrace them, acting as trusted guides to the best and most reliable sources of information.

Murdoch may groan. The Sulzbergers may mourn. Simon may sneer. But the goal isn't the survival of an industry – it's an informed citizenry.

Let's pull that last sentence and highlight it, shall we?

But the goal isn't the survival of an industry – it's an informed citizenry.

It's not the mere existence of Journalism that holds governments accountable. It's not Fox ("Faux") News, it's not the New York Times, it's not CNN. It's not even blogs or citizen journalism websites.

The media -- the "free press" bemoaned by Nixon and praised by Jefferson -- has morphed and evolved, but the value of the media hasn't changed with regard to the role it is required to play in any healthy democracy: the role it to inform the public and to hold the government, the captains of industry and the purveyors of power and influence accountable to the people.

Together with a solid educational foundation, the "free press" and a citizenry that is both informed and educated work together to ensure that the fiascos of the past aren't carried onward into the future. Had the media done its job instead of losing its way over the past 8 years, we'd be in a far different -- and likely better -- place in terms of matters ranging from social, economic, military and infrastructure.

"...the goal isn't the survival of an industry – it's an informed citizenry."

And an accountable government -- of, by and for the people.

Hat-tip to peter1a for the pointer to the Guardian story.

Update: Check out this prior piece by Prof. Aaron Barlow:

Pro/Am Collaboration In Reporting: Is It Really Needed?

The piece was written for a roundtable at the the Southern States Communication Association annual meeting in Norfolk, VA on April 3, 2009.

What follows is a contribution written by Aaron Barlow for a roundtable at the the Southern States Communication Association annual meeting in Norfolk, VA on April 3, 2009:

Collaboration depends on acceptance of certain assumptions, of course, including that both parties bring something of value to the effort. Given that and my title, you might think that I am going to argue against collaboration, saying that the amateur journalist just doesn't bring enough, that he or she isn't needed, even in the contemporary atmosphere of change and expansion in journalism. But I am not claiming that. In fact, I am not going to propose anything about collaboration at all, for I don't know what the best route for the future is, or if collaboration might be part of it. What I do know is that the amateurs, right now, carry the power in interactions with professional journalists; it is they who control the situation. So, instead of arguing that amateurs are the ones in need (though they may well be), I am going to suggest what many bloggers and citizen journalists have already suggested, that it may be that the professional is no longer be needed, that the fears of journalists over the past decade concerning the future of their profession are justified. Collaboration in reporting, as many see it, may merely be a way of keeping on life support a profession that has seen its day. Perhaps we should, as some have suggested, lay it to rest along side carriage-makers, milkmen, and Linotype operators. Starkly put, what may be feared by journalists for their careers may not be something that the general public need find troubling. The reporter running around shouting “The end is near” may be rousing up nothing more than a yawn. And the public may even be right to yawn.

Bumped by susie dow. Rebumped - CM1

Copied shamelessly from the old scoop site We have tried different ad networks in an effort to be self supporting and not have to ask members for donations. Due to complaints about the way java script has been being served, our highest paying ad networks have been disabled in order to provide the community with a faster loading site. So ... We're hauling out the Lemonade Stand again...

We need to raise some dollars for fees for FOIA requests, reprint permissions, photos and graphics for our Journal stories.  In other words, we need cash to keep the servers humming, the backups running, and the lights on.

So if you can, donate ...

If you don't have funds, click on those blogad thingies and Google ads on the right.  Each click gives us a few pennies and they do add up.  Our operating costs are pretty low and currently every cent of donations goes to server rental, FOIA requests and other fees.  There is not one person involved in ePluribus Media who receives any money for services.

Whatever you do, thanks for all your support!

The American Society of Access Professionals (ASAP) is presenting a series of one-day seminars on the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts May 12, 13, 14 in Washington DC. Unfortunately, it's not cheap. Detailed information about each session of the daily seminars can be found in a pdf here.

2009 ASAP TRAINING SERIES

With the exception of the first two paragraphs, everything below is either lifted directly from the Timelines main page or the PTSD Timeline starting page. -- GH

Every day, there's more news of our troops -- at home as well abroad. There are also increasing numbers of reported incidents of PTSD. These incidents, initially downplayed heavily by the Pentagon, are finally being reported more broadly and enabling more veterans to get some of the care they deserve & require.

The hard work and dedication of those who have fought to improve and elevate the recognition of PTSD cases & treatment is far from complete. Toward helping assist with the goal of documenting the growing reports of PTSD cases, ePluribus Media created a Timeline of PTSD-related incident.

The PTSD Timeline is "a first-of-its kind database of reported OEF/OIF combat posttraumatic stress-related incidents." From the opening page for the PTSD Timeline:

Created, collected, fact-checked, updated, and maintained by members of the ePluribus Media community including ilona, JeninRI, standingup, leftylimblog, kfred, Cho, the PTSD Timeline is our attempt to record what some of our troops are experiencing after their return from war. If you have an incident you wish to add please contact us at: timelines@epluribusmedia.org. If you can support this work, please consider donating to our effort.

ePluribus Media can make the PTSD data from the timeline available in spreadsheet-ready CSV format for a small donation here.

Related ePluribus Media articles on PTSD

Blaming the Veteran: The Politics of PTSD by D.E. Ford with Jeff Huber and Ilona Meagher

1. Part I - Stacking the Deck
2. Part II - Ration and Redefine
3. Part III: Malign & Slime

In the Aftermath: A Review of Moving a Nation to Care: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and America's Returning Troops by Aaron Barlow

The Stories They Tell: Iraq War Vets Bear Witness A review of Tish Wood's What They Asked of Us by Cho and Ilona Meagher

Corroding Effect a review of Penny Coleman's Flashback by Cho and Ilona Meagher

PTSD Combat blog Ilona Meagher's blog of resources, contacts, and help

Other ePluribus Media Timelines

ePluribus Media also maintains Timelines on Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, Civilian Contractors and the American Center for Voting Rights (ACVR) activities pertaining to reported incidents of Voter Suppression and Fraud (currently in Beta form).

Promoted -- this is interesting stuff. Check it out. Max is "Good People." -- GH

The History Commons is offering mini-grants to citizen journalists who would like to research and write for us. The details are on this page. I know the work of the ePluribus community, largely through the contributions of Greyhawk and other eP members who contribute their work to the Daily Kos, so it strikes me that our two sites could do a hell of a job cross-pollinating one another. If you're interested, please put in an application on the site, post a blog comment, or contact me: purplesage23 AT yahoo DOT com.

Thanks! -- Max Black

Does CNN have the right model for user generated news with iReport? CNN believes so but some people who took a loss on their shares in Apple on October 3 might disagree. According to Bloomberg news:

An 18-year-old posted the fake Internet report that Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack, and investigators haven't found evidence the teenager tried to profit from driving down the stock, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

So the iReporter didn't profit but what about others?

The bogus report cut Apple's market value by at least $4.8 billion in the first hour of Nasdaq Stock Market trading before a spokesman for the Cupertino, California-based maker of iPods and Macintosh computers said the report wasn't true. The shares recovered a bit, closing down 3 percent.

CNN's response? 

The ePluribus Media Journal continues to get its face "lifted," thanks to Bronxdem's efforts, and the Community site here is getting migrated and upgraded to the new version of Drupal.

Just a reminder that the upgrade will be happening over the weekend.

For those who are interested in what the ePluribus Media feed looks like for the news agencies and others that are subscribers, take a look here.

ePluribus Media Community RSS Feed

Bumped. Originally posted 2008-06-21 08:46:03 -0500.

From the mailbag:

To English/History/journalism educators:
To traditional media and citizen bloggers/reporters:

Are you interested in "news literacy" and teaching news-writing skills to students and citizens? Want to hear from the author of "Be the Media," a guide to making your own news and message? Are you concerned about legal rules governing linking or copying?

Attend a unique, one-day workshop for teachers, advisors, professors, editors and citizen journalists on Sat., June 28, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Univ. of Mass. Lowell campus. A featured participant: Howard Schneider, former editor of Long Island Newsday and head of the national news-literacy curriculum development project at Stony Brook University -- funded by the Ford, Knight and MacArthur fundations. Also former New York Times correspondent Doug McGill, who runs the Largemouth Citizen Journalism Workshops in Minnesota. And David Mathison, author of the just-published "Be The Media."

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SHARING THE NEWS: Reaching students, training citizens
A one-day workshop for teachers, advisors, professors, editors and citizen journalists.
Saturday, June 28, 2008 / UNiv. of Mass. -- Lowell -- off I-495
9 a.m.-4 p.m.

PROGRAM DETAILS:
http://dbs.hosting.crocker.com/wiki/index.php/Sharing

REGISTER NOW:
https://www.123signup.com/event?id=tbsgb

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I followed the link to the program. More information below.