• UGC: The future of journalism – or just rumors?

    Journalists write the news. The public reads it. But when the audience becomes the journalist, does it open a can of worms for the gatekeepers of news or does it spur a better reportage and diversify content? Are journalists ready to listen when the world starts talking? more…

  • Weathering the storm: Citizen journalists saved the day for reporters

    Armed only with their digital cameras, ordinary Filipinos captured the images of the devastation of twin storms that swept through the country.  See the audioslideshow of the gripping photos that came from amateur journalists. more…

  • MoJane: A role-model for journalists?

    Editor of the future? At Rhein-Zeitung Ms. Katrin Steinert works as a mobile journalist equipped with photo and video cameras, iPhone, laptop and audio recorder. more…

  • New media tool exposes Tanzania Albino killings

    More than 50 people with albinism have been murdered in Tanzania since 2007, by people who believe that albinos body parts could make one rich. The media failed to highlight the albino killings – so ordinary people had to do their job. more…

  • At a crossroads: Kenyan blogger comes to the rescue

    For Ory Okolloh, who came back home to elect her next leader, the events that followed would forever change her life. She had flown into Kenya from her base in South Africa to exercise her constitutional right to vote in the 2007 General Election. more…

Current News


Citizen Journalism is complementary-Lang

 “Citizen Journalists can report news that the traditional media cannot”, the Editor-in-chief of Grocott’s Mail, Mr Steven Lang, stated this when he delivered his keynote address at the conference.

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Citizen journalism not a threat – Larsen

Is the citizen journalism a threat for professional journalism?  Or, it is helpful for each other to perform their job correctly. more…

Independent media good for governance – Beerfeltz

hans-jurgenSpeakers at the 3rd Media Conference on citizen journalism have expressed confidence in the ability of the new media to enhance the flow of information, especially for smaller communities. more…

In pictures: The Discussion

panelists2See the pictures from the panel discussion. more…

In pictures: Media conference sets off

participantsThe International Institute for Journalism (IIJ) of Inwent capacity building international in Germany has began its international media conference themed ” At a tipping point: Community voices create the difference”. more…

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Case Studies


Vietnamese Blogs: It’s not only blogging

From the almost ground zero blog usage, Vietnam has turned into one of the world’s hot spot for blogs. Vietnamese use this platform not simply because they want to post what’s on their mind but to embrace the freedom that they don’t have outside of the internet.

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Rival publications differ on citizen journalism

Two rival newspapers, Gießener Zeitung and Gießener Allgemeine sharply differ on the role of UGC in news gathering. The former is all for it while the latter reckons that it has no use for “story telling.”

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Google to compete with Facebook and Twitter

Google has launched a new service, Google Buzz,  to stand in competition with Facebook and Twitter. Although  the new service has been met with lots of complains by its users, can it compete with the other established forms of social media? more…

Netizens, new rising power with double edges

In yesteryear times, pen might be mightier than swords. Not these days in Indonesia when new empire is on the rise, the Internet. more…

The secrets behind Rhein-Zeitung

The Rhein-Zeitung in Koblenz has a huge readership gained through its use of  social media like Twitter or “Wer kennt wen” compared to other media in Germany. In an interview, the Editor-In-Chief  Joachim Türk, told us the secrets behind its strategy.

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Traditional journalism is true journalism – GAZ

Traditional journalists are hopeful about their profession but they are gradually loosing their business in advertisement market. A group of people have come in front of the readers with the idea of citizen journalism and earning popularity especially among the youth. more…

GEO.de vows more to cluck users

Starting with reluctant toe-dipping into the world of the Internet, German-based glossy magazine GEO.de needs more than a decade to realize state-of-the-art way to reach to its valued readers through the website. more…

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