10 Reasons to Become a Citizen Journalist for Soccer
Hi everybody,
Since my article about MyFootballClub and Ebbsfleet United (as well as the role of crowdsourcing in soccer) received numerous visits, I thought it would be useful to continue this ’social’ soccer series today with a post about how you can become a citizen journalist for soccer. If you’re not familiar with citizen journalism then don’t worry, I’m about to go over it all shortly…what it is, why it is and which sites are devoted to it. So if you love soccer and the developing world of the web then this could just be the (almost) perfect article for you!
What is Citizen Journalism?
Where as traditional journalism is about a select group of writers broadcasting their opinions to the world, citizen journalism relates to the writings of the mass of ordinary people who also want to share their views with others. Citizen journalism specifically includes people WITHOUT any journalism training and doesn’t refer to professional journalists. This is a more interactive form of journalism which is in keeping with the modern stage of the web. Citizen journalism websites thus have access to a whole network of ordinary citizens all around the world who can sometimes gain quicker and more personal access to stories than the traditional press. They can then write, publish and share those stories with tremendous speed and effectiveness thanks to the ’social’ age of the web.
What’s the Relevance to Soccer?
Just as a normal newspaper will have different news sections based around politics, entertainment, business and so on, a citizen journalism website has its own categories and these include the major subject of sport- within this of course lies the all important topic of soccer. You can write news stories for soccer just as you can for any other topic, and this will enable you to share your soccer opinions with other people via the internet. So the relevance to soccer is just as strong as to any other topic…and especially strong within this website!
What Are the Best Citizen Journalism Websites?
To save overly-confusing things, I’ve stuck to three major citizen journalism websites here. I’ve listed them below with a little bit of detail on each…
1) Now Public
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“NowPublic is a participatory news network which mobilizes an army of reporters to cover the events that define our world. In twelve short months, the company has become one of the fastest growing news organizations with thousands of reporters in over 140 countries”
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2) Newsvine
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“Updated continuously by citizens like you, Newsvine is an instant reflection of what the world is talking about at any given moment”
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3) Associated Content
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This is more of an article site than being a citizen journalism website in the same way as NowPublic is. NowPublic’s tagline is ‘crowd powered media’ and is mainly for news, where as Associated Content artcles can be about anything and are often basic guides or ‘best of’ posts. Nevertheless, Associated Content lets you share your views with the world and gives you the potential to make money from your writing- so who am I not to include it?!
http://www.associatedcontent.com
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How Do You Become a Citizen Journalist for Soccer?
- Join one of the above websites
- Write a news on soccer based on something you’ve witnessed
- Publish you article and share it with millions
As you can see, it’s as simple as that. Unlike becoming a pro journalist, there are no qualifications or barriers to entry…it’s just point, click and write!
What Are the 10 Reasons to Become a Citizen Journalist for Soccer?
- Enjoy writing about something you love
- Get recognition for being amonst the first to break a news story
- Gain credability for the quality of your articles
- Possess more content to share with your friends
- Join a community based around your interests
- Enjoy reading other people’s articles/news
- Learn more by reading other people’s articles/news
- Be important as a forming part of the media
- Experiment to get a taste of proper journalism
- Earn some money on the side!
What are Some Useful Links for Citizen Journalism?
- Post about American soccer and citizen journalism: http://olywa.blogspot.com/2009/07/us-open-cup-and-citizen-journalism.html
- Posts tagged citizen journalism at Soccer Blogs: http://soccerblogs.net/tags/citizen_journalism
- Citizen Journalism news stories at Big Soccer: http://soccernews.bigsoccer.com/article/00ud1OwfFver3?q=BBC
And Finally…
Thanks for reading this post about becoming a citizen journalism- I hope you liked the 10 reasons to become a citizen journalist for soccer and found the other info useful. Speak to you soon…
Have fun,
Soccer Geek
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