Community News Photography

Community News Photography

WestportNow http://www.westportnow.com/ is a "citizen journalism"
website (published in blog format) serving a tony Connecticut
community of 26,000. Run part-time by Gordon Joseloff , the site puts
special emphasis on photography by community members. You can see the
work of more than 50 citizen photographers in the site's " Year In
Pictures 2004 " http://www.westportnow.com/2004inreview/index.htm
feature. (Alas, there are no captions, but it will give you an idea
of the contributions the site receives.)

While most of the images that run on WestportNow.com aren't
professional quality, many are. And when news breaks in Westport, the
website does a nice job; the site was the best place to find coverage
and photographs http://www.echoditto.com/node/519 of an early
morning Christmas Day fire that almost devastated a Westport landmark.

Joseloff, a former UPI and CBS News journalist, says the photography
on the site does not just fall into his lap; he works at getting it.
In addition to taking lots of images around town himself at community
events (he's head of the city council, among other things), he seeks
out volunteers who are competent photographers and encourages them to
participate in the site. Typical "pay": mugs and t-shirts. And he
gives advice to his volunteers, explaining what he wants for the site
and selecting the best of their work.

Joseloff wonders why more newspaper reporters aren't following his
lead into hyper-local community journalism. The way he sees it, what
he's done in Westport -- now two years old -- is the equivalent of
starting a small community newspaper 20 years ago.
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Via / By / Excerpted / From / Tip from / Thanks to:

http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=31
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=31&aid=76490

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