Citizen Journalism Contest: $1,000 for the most popular story, news or not
This morning, GroundReport.com announced a new incentive for users publishing stories, video and photos to its site: $1,000 for the top-rated entry every month.
GroundReport.com is a cit-j site allowing anyone registered to self-publish just about anything. It was created by Rachel Sterne, a former United Nations intern, and launched officially this month. Her idea echos what the Jimmy Wales of the world are arguing: follow the wisdom of crowds and democratize the news.
From the site:
On GroundReport, anyone can reach a global audience, create a personalized newsfeed and get a free, hosted press portfolio...GroundReport's mission is to [empower] everyone to get involved. We think that government censorship, media politics and money should not determine what you see on the evening news...At GroundReport everyone participates in the news, and stories marginalized by the mainstream media are the focus.
GroundReport's business model seems pretty clear: It's free to upload and users are encouraged to carry advertising with each story. Users get 50% of any ad revenue and the rest goes back to GroundReport. Authors retain all rights to their work.
No word on traffic, but it doesn't look like that many people are posting -- or ranking -- stories just yet. The most popular so far seem to be opinion pieces, though they're categorized as news. For example, the top story right now is a video entitled "The Gospel of Propane". From the accompanying text:
Minister Steve spends most of his day bringing much needed propane, food, and clothing to these homeless enclaves from his blue school bus. "Right now, the political system is against a shelter in Ocean County. I think they want the impression that we've got a suburban utopia here," Minister Steve says. "Y'know, we don't have a homeless shelter, we don't have a problem."
Also isn't clear that stories are being edited or vetted.
I don't know that I would call this a destination for my morning reading, but I will say this: It ain't easy to launch a website, to let people know about it, to develop a community and to harness content. In theory, Ms. Sterne's heart is in a good place. In practice, I don't know that anyone has really figured out yet how to give equal weight to a wide variety of stories and equal access to the news.
Seed Newsvine