Internet Users Transformed Into News Reporters

Cell-phone cameras and digital cameras are ubiquitous tools that provide immediate images of any news happening. Websites like NowPublic and YouWitnessNews now offer a public platform for news reports, videos, photos and commentary supplied by amateurs all over the world. NowPublic.com claims more than 60,000 contributors in more than 140 countries. The new websites work with traditional news providers, including Associated Press, and some offer to provide witnesses or sources to news events. One website developer was inspired hours after the 2005 London bus bombings, when hundreds of photos went on line. For now, sites like NowPublic do not pay contributors, but creators anticipate an “army” of journalists. – YaleGlobal