Ticker: Beruit’s lost treasures, Roman ruins knocked down for development

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[Story Ticker] August 04 update

Afternoon, bloggers.

Our story ticker updates again today with a story that may prick the conscience of those interested in preserving history.

Here’s the full pitch from Kit on our main Global for me website:

• Beruit’s lost treasures by Austin Mackell

LEBANON – In downtown Beirut and further across the Middle East a desecration is occurring. Rebuilding in Lebanon by a construction company has uncovered a series of Roman ruins along the way. We’ve seen them…

So what happens once they find them? They knock ‘em down and build on top.

How has this been allowed to happen? Is there a blatant abuse of political power going on? Is the building company connected with other ongoing projects in archaeologically significant areas like Baghdad, Ammam and Agaba, what further treasures has the region lost? Critics are incensed.

Who is behind this? Are there murkier dealings going on?

Global for me correspondent Austin Mackell is ready to investigate. Having seen the ruins first hand, spoken to critics and looked into the history of the company and deals involved, he believes there is a story to be told. Help him here at Global for me by pledging to make a donation for this story, now. Read the page.

This story was suggested by Austin himself. If you’re interested in helping make this story come to light, here’s what you can do:

• First, spread the word.

Global for me is crowdsourced – in other words, we need your support. Help build a crowd that will support and help produce this story. E-mail, tweet or call your friends that you know would be interested – get the story out.

• Second, Suggest & Fund.

Global for me is crowdfunded, meaning that the money that produces the stories comes from interested users like you. Donations can range from pennies to pounds or euros or dollars, it’s all about supporting the journalist for their work.

• Third, get the word out.

We’re not kidding. We need you to spread the fire on each of our suggested stories so they may come to light. For more info about how this works and what we’re trying to do, visit our FAQ and Mission & Challenge pages.

• Fourth, be apart of the process.

Send us your feedback. E-mail us. Comment on the blog. Tweet us. Send us a smoke signal on Facebook. Let us know what you want from the story, when you want it, and how. We’re working alongside you.

Also, if you may notice, our story ticker page has updated with little thermometers that look something like this:

This little thing is a Fund-o-Meter, you may have seen the likes of it before. It’s a new indicator of how much has already been donated to a story, and how close the story is to production.

We’re growing, but we still need help. That is what crowdsourcing and crowd funding is about. Many thanks to those that have e-mailed, commented and supported us thus far. It’s appreciated more than you know.

Thanks for your support,

Kim

–GFM Team

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• Help out by suggesting or funding a story.

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Video: military drills for People’s Republic of China 60th anniversary

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Henry Morton sends video form China

Afternoon, bloggers.

We have a great video for you all today that captured recent military drills in China.

Our Global Radio News parent received some video from one of its China correspondents today.

Meet GRN correspondent Henry Morton, currently operating in Beijing. Henry shot some footage of the People’s Liberation Army’s Third Guard Division, and we’re sharing it with you.

The division is drilling for their upcoming 60th anniversary on August 1, as well as the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic in China in October.

At the moment, the full video (11:42 min) is available for viewing on our Ning network, Sell News. Click here to view the page where the video is hosted.

We’d of course provide the video on YouTube, but we were stuck with its 10:00 limit.

And to throw in a bit of a teaser, here’s a small gallery of screenshots from the video:

And of course the video itself.

Hope you enjoyed the brief look at what’s going on in China outside headline news. We’re all about connecting you directly to the reporter behind the news desk – which in this case is Henry Morton.

Special thanks to Henry for sending in the video for this post.

Happy viewing,

Kim

–GFM Team

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Ticker: child kidnapping, bombs in Philippines, Lebanese-Israeli border and 16 new ministers for Bulgaria

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[Story Ticker] July 29 update

Afternoon again, bloggers.

Our story ticker has been updated today with 4 new additions.

For newcomers, Global for me is a crowdsourced, crowdfunded journalism project by Global Radio News. Our mission is connecting you, the user, to the reporter behind the news desk.

Read our mission as well as challenge to the journalism industry for more information, and feel free to contact us with questions.

Also, the ticker has been condensed into one, singular post that will be updated daily. Have a look, we hope we’ve made it easier for you.

Onto the stories…

• Child sacrifice and kidnapping in Uganda by Duncan Woodside

KINSHASHA, Congo – The abduction of children in Uganda has surged by nearly 40% compared to figures for 2006. The country has long been bedevilled by kidnapping, with the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army specialising in the enslavement of children as soldiers. But the latest rise in abductions – to an annual rate of more than three hundred – is not due to the rebels, who have been largely exiled to neighbouring Congo; instead, it seems that the rising popularity of ‘child sacrifice’ is to blame. Read on.

• Despite peace pledges, bombs in southern Philippines by Simon Roughneen

Singapore – Government and Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines both signed ceasefires over the weekend, renewing hopes that a stalled peace deal could be implemented, giving autonomy to Muslim regions in the largely Catholic country’s south, after three decades of on-off fighting and multiple kidnaps of foreigners. Read on.

• The Lebanese-Israeli border by Austin Mackell

TEHRAN, Iran – Tensions are escalating along the Lebanese border with Israel. A new Israeli outpost on the border has apparently upset both Hezbollah and the Lebanese army and reports suggest that they have come very close to engaging with Israeli’s near the outpost. Read on.

• New PM Borisov has picked 16 ministers for the next Bulgarian government by Jordan Jordanovich

SOFIA, Bulgaria – Boyko Borisov, leader of the GERB party and the future Prime Minister of Bulgaria, has announced the names of the Ministers for the new Bulgarian government. At a special ceremony at the Bulgarian Presidency, Borisov handed back to President Georgi Parvanov the mandate to appoint a new cabinet. The new Bulgarian government consists of 15 Ministers. Including former senior World Bank economist Simeon Djankov as the new Minister of Finance. Read on.

All of these have been added to our growing ticker. Check it daily to see updates.

If you’re interested in suggesting or funding a story, see our Suggest and Fund page.

Happy reading,

Kim

–GFM Team

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What’s in a name? Renaming citizen journalism

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Debate: is citizen journalism properly named?

Morning, bloggers.

Today we may be whacking a stick into an already swarming beehive, but that’s exactly what we want. We want to hear what people of all sides of this issue think. We’re starting a debate today, and the subject in question is what many refer to as citizen journalism.

The tip of the iceberg: at the moment citizen journalism is – just like the technology that aids it – often changing and growing daily. But what, exactly, is the relationship between citizen journalism and its professional predecessor? Well today, we’re simply centering sights on its current name.

No, we’re not firing at citizen (though surely individual is a stronger word) as much as the use of the word journalism.

Here we go.

The tools of the trade

Journalism is a trade, therefore those that practice it are called journalists. But we don’t consider everyone who owns a screwdriver an electrician, a plumber or various other professions that use the same tool.

So in that vein, should what is currently called a citizen journalist armed with a pen, camera or audio recorder still carry the word journalist?

Hold your fire a second. There’s plenty to applaud about with citizen journalism, as it’s currently named.

Journalism veterans such as former Newsweek London branch editor Stryker McGuire point out that citizen journalism may play an important role in keeping up the spread of information while the journalism industry recooperates.

But there are still snags in the practice.

The loss of where’s, when’s, who’s and what’s

When on-the-scene videos appear on YouTube, Twitter or are sent directly in to news broadcasters, there are a lot of problems for professional journalists and audience members alike:

…where is the video from?

…when was it filmed?

…who filmed it? (And what are their credentials?)

…what is the video actually depicting? (Is it really what it claims to be?)

These things are crucial to journalism, and their lack causes serious snags in the information flow.

For example, recently Global for me’s parent Global Radio News was offered video footage from the tribal areas of Pakistan. It was claimed to be the aftermath of a recent United States drone attack in the region. But there was no method for GRN to confirm whether the footage was exactly what the submitter claimed.

So that piece of information, however legitimate it may have been, was rejected. It didn’t meet the journalism bar and therefore could not be passed on. Releasing it could have painted a false picture of the situation on the ground.

A similar problem plagued news broadcasters during the recent election protests in Iran: after professional media was clamped shut, broadcasters were left with user-uploaded videos or pictures. Unfortunately, they too could not confirm the legitimacy of the submissions.

This left both newscasters and the audience alike scratching their heads over whether the information received was accurate or not.

The bottom line

Should citizen journalists carry journalist to their name, or should the idea be renamed to witness, or contributor? In other words, is citizen journalism the the right name or term for this “non-professional” work?

How does the practice fit into today’s spread of information?

What is legitimate or non-legitimate information?

And of course, what is next for journalism?

The questions are endless.

Witnesses have always contributed to stories. Witnesses have broken stories. Bloggers are amazing at fact checking and using the Internet for do-it-yourself activism.

But there are numerous websites that claim journalism, but surely they are more amateur information exchanges or witness contribution websites?

We’re stirring the pot here until it churns up what people think.

Really, what do you think?

We want to hear your voice on this debate. Bring in the fire and brimstone if needed, it’s a touchy subject in many ways for Internet users and professional reporters alike, and also for the news consumers that follow or avoid them.

Yours,

The GFM Team

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Ticker: X-Factor odds with special guest Tony Cowell

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Today’s freelance story ticker

Afternoon again, bloggers!

Today, our story ticker is drumming up a nice surprise for all you X-Factor and celebrity fans.

The Global for me team plus a certain special someone is proud to present the following story pitch:

• X-Factor odds by the GFM Team and special guest Tony Cowell

The new series of X-Factor doesn’t begin until next month but already the bookies have been giving odds.

Paddy Power is offering odds for a winner from one of the younger categories- 7/4 that the winner is from the boys group and 15/8 for a girl winner. No group has ever won X-Factor but they are being backed at 3/1 with the over 25’s least favourite at 4/1.

All these odds, numbers and demographics pose the question, what does it really take to win X-Factor? With huge amounts of cash at stake- is there a formula for success? Where does the power lie- with the judges or the public?

We welcome to the Global For Me team, Tony Cowell, brother of X-Factor judge and creator Simon. Tony has over the years had unparralled X-Factor access and knows better than anyone the inner workings of the X-Factor machine.

For the inside track on all things X-Factor at GFM we can deliver the backstage stories and more.

Read the original pitch on our main website.

As some may already know – yes, Tony Cowell is the older brother of famed X-Factor, American Idol, Britain’s Got Talent TV personality Simon Cowell. Read more about the endeavors of Tony Cowell on his official website.

This is another unique opportunity to connect to the reporter behind the news desk. E-mail or comment your interest to GFM right away if you’re interested… X-Factor is soon to return to television, so there’s a bit of a deadline with this one!

Also, don’t forget to browse our other story tickers for this week. Here’s a list of some of the proposed topics below:

• Will Afghanistan make it to the polls? by Jerome Starkey
• What happens after Kim Jong Il’s Death? by Jason Strother
• Sri Lankan concentration camps by Florence Muchori
• Mexico: the affects of the drug trade by Ioan Grillo
• How is Iraq coping alone? by Neil Arun
• Cyber warfare: US, S. Korea versus N. Korea? by Nancy Youssef

Interested? Drop us a line. Don’t hesitate to ask questions if you’re curious about the Fund-a-Story process.

All the best,

Kim

–GFM Team

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A little blog maintenance: Challenge and Fund a Story pages are live

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Added pages: Challenge and Fund a Story

Afternoon, bloggers.

Global for me is getting a little bit bigger. We added a page for our Global for me challenge, as well as a Fund a Story page for story donations. Take a look.

Special thanks to those that’ve supported us as well as spread the word about our challenge. We thank you.

Remember, it’s all about connecting to the reporter behind the news desk. Make the news industry work for you.

Thanks for all of your support in making this endeavor grow.

Cheers,

Kim

–GFM Team

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A rubbish story, literally – Brazil rejects Britain’s shipped rubbish

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From our Ning network, Sell News.

Good morning, bloggers!

A little something funny was posted on our Ning network Sell News two days ago by Simon Lane. Simon is one of our correspondents in Brazil, and he wrote about a rubbish controversy between Great Britain and Brazil.

Here’s the entry on our Ning, and here’s the full post by Simon down below:

Winter is upon us

Posted by Simon Lane on July 20, 2009 at 3:00am

A winter Sunday in Rio de Janeiro. Yes, we have seasons here: the leaves don’t fall off the trees but we get spring, summer, autumn and winter just like everyone else. At this time of year, the temperature can fall a bit and we are all getting colds. It seems we’re also getting rubbish, loads of it; from England, of all places. The BBC reports that Brazilian authorities are trying to return 1 400 tonnes of toxic waste, around 90 shipping containers, to Felixstowe, that were delivered to Santos, near São Paulo, along with two other ports in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. It’s messy. Apart from the plastic bottles, condoms and other assorted items of a used nature, there are also English newspapers, including some tabloids. Tabloids! It was the latter that gave the game away apparently. “Yesterday’s news to wrap tomorrow’s fish”? Nothing so poetic. We’re talking evidence of the most damnable nature, cut-up photos and articles spilling the beans from the old country (“Kev is a swinger!”) onto the quaysides of mighty Brazil. IBAMA, the Brazilian environment agency, has made it clear that Brazil is not the world’s rubbish dump. Quite so. Just why do we get so much rubbish here, by the way? Everyone lectures Brazilians about trees, poverty and … there’s a third thing I keep on forgetting … but now, at last, Brazil can lecture the lecturers! Throw it in the North Sea, people, and let us get on with our winter unhindered, spring is on its way and the trees, shrubs and plants will soon be flowering (except for the ones we’ve gratuitously cut down, of course). I like IBAMA, the eco-police, about as much as I like Greenpeace, but for once the acronym is working for the common good. How about sending us something nice from up north for a change? We dispatch the most beautiful women and the best footballers from these blessed shores and what do we get in return for it? Just a bunch of has-been hipsters, cast-off crooners, bin-end tree-huggers, mealy-mouthed misery-mongers and whining end-of-the-worldists stretching all the way from Paraty to Pernambuco … and now, as if that wasn’t enough, we’re getting actual non-licensed, imported white trash! Of course, like the seasons, we can deal with it all, we have a first-rate criminal class to filter the riff-raff and excellent cleaning staff to dispose of our personal rubbish when and where we like, we’re kind and hospitable for the most part but we can’t possible take on this barrage of Suns, Mirrors and condoms all in one go. Who could? But then that must be why it was sent down to us in the first place?

This immediately caught the attention of other members on Sell News. Here’s the commentary that follows:

Henry Peirse:
Great post…do you have a video camera or even a phone with a camera?

Simon Lane:
I am a bit far from the crime scene but I’ll see what I can do. I did find a rather unconvincing fake snapshot on Reuter’s site … the ground and general setting look more Hamspstead Heath than Santos container dock.

Henry Peirse:
Now I’ve read this – I get your e-mail – sorry 🙂

kim esteve:
What are they going to do with this stuff now, Dump it in the Atlantic Ocean? Africa?I think that the major point of the story is to follow it to it’s conclusion. Where is this ending Up.

Simon Lane:
It’s stuck in containers in Santos and Rio Grande do Sul for the next month or two and then should be returned to the UK although I doubt it. If you see any British tabloids blowing past you in SP please take a picture.

Hope you enjoyed the insight. Simon raises some interesting questions about the rubbish relations (so to speak) between Great Britain and Brazil. But there’s another question to ponder in light of the Earth Journalism Awards: where does the world’s trash go, anyway?

A little food for thought. Or rather – a little rubbish to mull over.

Ring us up if you want to make it into a full-blown journalism story – that’s what we’re here for, isn’t it?

Anchors away,

Kim

–GFM Team

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The Global for me challenge

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Global for me issues a challenge

Afternoon, bloggers.

Global for me has issued a challenge to news readers, watchers and listeners alike.

We didn’t need to get fancy with the title: it’s the Global for me challenge.

We drafted it, saved it and sent it to all corners of the Earth. It’s a shot across the bow, an alert to news consumers and deliverers alike. It sounds dramatic, but honestly – we mean it.

It looks a little something like this…

Read it in full. (PDF file, 59.2KB)

Spread the word. Sound it out. GFM is out to rewrite the news business.

See you in the news,

Kim & Paul

–GFM Team

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Bastille Day ’09 in London, a celebration for all (French)

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Global For French Bastille Day London video report

Afternoon, bloggers!

Weeks ago, we launched our French version of our main website, as well as pitched a potential French-only story about Bastille Day celebrations in London. Our French readers answered in gusto.

So here it is. Catherine of Global for French has finished her Bastille Day in London report. We’ve uploaded it onto our YouTube channel for easy viewing, but if you want to see it in higher quality, head over to our VieBlogger page.

A message from Catherine…

Global For French vous présente son premier reportage vidéo consacré à la communauté française de Londres célébrant sa Fête Nationale à Battersea Park un dimanche de juillet…

Bastille Day London, un reportage de Catherine Tonero, Simon Fisher et Fabian Mofid.

Commentez, partagez et surtout donnez-nous vos idées pour de nouveaux reportages!

Merci,

Catherine & Kim

–GFM Team

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Global for me: now mashed on Mashable

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Global for me in the news

Morning, bloggers!

A little press update, Global for me was featured last week on Mashable, the online social media guide.

Mashable’s Leah Betancourt wrestled the many issues and obstacles GFM and its fellows face in Is Crowdfunding the Future of Journalism?

A sample of the article…

Crowdfunding, or getting many people to donate small amounts of cash to fund a project, startup, or service, is nothing new. Think public radio or television pledge drives. Think political campaigns. Think tip jar. Now, as the media landscape changes and traditional revenue sources are beginning to disappear, some forward-thinking journalists and entrepreneurs are starting to apply the crowdfunding concept to the news. A new crop of sites are combining crowdfunding with volunteer and professional contributions in order to source news that people want to read.

There are two issues with crowdfunded sites that also have volunteer journalists, however: who’s going to pay for it and who’s going to write it. These sites are experimenting with ways of answering these questions…

Read on for your curiosity if it has yet to be sated. And many heartfelt thanks for our GFM readers, commentors and supporters.

Spread the word on crowd funded journalism, and connect to the reporter behind the news desk.

Cheers,

Kim

–GFM Team

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