Minnesota Citizen Journalism

Last update: May 2, 2008 - 3:22 PM

DAILY PLANET

(www.tcdailyplanet.net): This Twin Cities "pro-am" site is run by experienced journalists (including former Star Tribune writer Jeremy Iggers) who rely on contributions from citizen journalists.

THE MCGILL REPORT

(www.mcgillreport.org): Doug McGill, a former New York Times reporter, runs his one-man show from Rochester, Minn. His "glocal" -- global and local -- reporting focuses on the international connections of southeast Minnesota. McGill broke the story of a massacre in Ethiopia that was connected to refugees living in the state.

MINNESOTA MONITOR

(www.minnesotamonitor.com): Another pro-am project, this site has a coalition of professional journalists, bloggers and freelance writers who cover a wide range of issues, including immigration and the environment.

NORTHFIELD CITIZENS ONLINE

(www.northfield.org): Started as Northfield Free-Net in the early '90s, the user-contributed site features news about public events of interest to the Northfield community.

THE UPTAKE

(www.theuptake.org): Video-driven political coverage is the focus of this St. Paul-based site, which plans to evolve into a national network of regional reporting.

MORE ON CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Besides links at the above sites, learn more about citizen journalism at author Dan Gillmor's website (www.dangillmor. com), at Cyber Journalist (www.cyberjournalist.net) and through the online video "Citizen Journalism: From Pamphlet to Blog" (www.blip.tv/file/60931).

RANDY A. SALAS