CNN Wants to Tap Citizen Journalism

CNN's new I-Report and CNN Exchange features aim to let citizens submit stories, pictures, audio, and video on current news.

Digital technology and the Internet are changing the face of news gathering: many people will remember that early images and footage of the 9-11 attacks, the Madrid train bombing, and the London subway bombings came in from everyday people with digital cameras, camcorders, and cell phones. Today, cell phone cameras and other devices are capturing fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, violence n Baghdad, and local events long before news crews can arrive—often, personal media on major stories hits the Internet before mainstream media can begin coverage.

So, Time Warner’s CNN is aiming to expand its citizen journalism initiatives, offering people around the world the opportunity to submit their stories, video, audio, and pictures to CNN for possible distribution via the network’s considerable distribution channels.

First, CNN is accepting submissions from readers and viewers through I-Report: submissions go through the same vetting process CNN employs for all content distributed through its on-air or online venues. Users can send material via email to ireport@cnn.com or via any of the I-Report logos which accompany news stories, blogs, and other items on the CNN site.

I-Report submissions are also considered for CNN Exchange, a new area of CNN’s online offers focussing exclusively on user-submitted content. "User-generated content has the potential to play a pivotal role in journalism whether it’s online or offline," said Mitch Gelman, senior vice president and executive producer for CNN.com. "With CNN Exchange, we’ve essentially created a one-stop shop for CNN.com users to share their contributions with other Internet users, as well as to weigh in on the day’s most pressing news."

CNN Exchange will highlight selected user contributions, offer polls and links to other "citizen journalism" sites, and offer tips and advice from CNN staffers on producing and submitting stories.

Of course, one question that immediately pops to mind: does CNN pay anybody for this material? Answer: no. Anyone submitting material to CNN Exchange or I-Reports grants CNN a non-exclusive, perpetual, and free license to edit, telecast, rerun, syndicate, and otherwise transmit and transmute your material into any form or medium they like, forever. So maybe think twice before agreeing to those terms of use.

CNN accepts videos up to 30 MB is size and pictures and audio up to 1 MB.