- DigitalJournal.com
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DigitalJournal.com 
URL http://www.digitaljournal.com Commercial? Yes Type of site News Citizen Journalism Registration Optional Owner Digital Journal, Inc. Created by Community Launched 1998 Current status Active 
DigitalJournal.com's David Silverberg, Alex Chumak and Chris Hogg
DigitalJournal.com is an international news network where thousands of citizen reporters ("Digital Journalists") contribute from 140 countries around the world.[1]
Digital Journal started as a technology and gadget magazine in 1998[2] and evolved into a global citizen journalist news hub in 2006.[3] DigitalJournal.com has seen significant growth since 2006 from word-of-mouth.[4]
The site offers a different approach to citizen journalism[5] by being a content producer rather than link site such as Newsvine or Digg. The site is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The site is a full-fledged participatory news site like NowPublic or OhmyNews.
DigitalJournal.com has two distinguishing factors from other citizen journalism initiatives: It shares advertising revenue with all Digital Journalists who report for the site[6] and it has quality-control mechanisms in place to ensure content is accurate and well written, with the goal of creating trust from its readership.[7] To contribute to DigitalJournal.com, citizen journalists must submit a sample of writing and demonstrate expertise to be approved first by Digital Journal's editorial board. The site is run like a newsroom, with an assignment desk where citizen journalists are given tips on news items that need to be covered.[8] The site has broken news about many international stories including the 2008 Mumbai attacks,[9] and it also had a reporter in Gaza during the 2008-2009 Israel-Gaza conflict while the rest of the mainstream press was not allowed in the region.[10]
In addition to digital journalists, DigitalJournal.com allows regular citizens to contribute, unpaid, by blogging, uploading images, embedding videos from sites like YouTube, voting on content they deem newsworthy in a similar fashion to Digg and interacting in groups.
The site is updated frequently, with approximately 100 articles per day. All DigitalJournal.com contributors are paid via PayPal at the end of the month based on a combination of how much they contribute, how much traffic their articles receive and how many votes they receive from readers. The site also offers bonus payments for on-the-ground reporting from breaking news events and interviews.
In January 2010, Digital Journal announced the formation of a Board of Advisers.[11] The Board is made up of the following individuals [12]:
- Journalist Jack Kapica, formerly of The Globe and Mail;
- Andrew Waitman, Chief Executive Officer of Pythian Group Inc. and Managing Partner of Blackswan Ventures, an angel technology investment firm. Waitman has been involved with more than 75 start-ups.
- Kerry Munro, former head of Yahoo! Canada. Munro oversaw the company it became the fastest-growing and best-performing business unit in Yahoo! Worldwide.
- Michael Geist, a professor of law at the University of Ottawa where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law.
- Jennifer Evans, founder and chief strategist at Sequentia Environics, a customer communications agency.
See also
References
- ^ Metro News: A citizen reporter for all seasons
- ^ DigitalJournal.com: About Us
- ^ globeandmail.com: What if your backup needs backup?
- ^ Interview with Christopher Hogg from Digital Journal | Globe and Mail.
- ^ Interview with Christopher Hogg from Digital Journal | Performancing.com
- ^ TechCrunch:Digital Journal Rev Shares With Their Citizen Journalists
- ^ Journalism.co.uk:Digital Journal launches revenue sharing for citizen journalists
- ^ Digital Journal Press release about assignment desk
- ^ Metro News: A citizen reporter for all seasons
- ^ Digital Journal Profile: Sameh A. Habeeb
- ^ Digital Journal announces Board of Advisers
- ^ Digital Journal announces Board of Advisers featuring well-known venture capitalists, media and Web experts
External links
Categories:- Community websites
- News websites
- Blogs
- Citizen journalism
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
