http://www.wordyard.com/2006/07/25/newassignment/ Technology, politics, culture Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:39:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 http://www.wordyard.com/2006/07/25/newassignment/#comment-49 NewAssignment.net » Blog Archive » Welcome to NewAssignment.Net Sat, 19 Aug 2006 22:42:20 +0000 http://www.wordyard.com/?p=1077#comment-49 [...] What is NewAssignment.Net? New Assignment.Net is a non-profit that tries to spark innovation in journalism by showing that open collaboration over the Internet among reporters, editors and large groups of users can produce high-quality work that serves the public interest, holds up under scrutiny, and builds trust. A second aim is to figure out how to fund this work through a combination of online donations, micro-payments, traditional fundraising, syndication rights, sponsorships, advertising and any other method that does not compromise the site’s independence or reputation. At New Assignment, pros and amateurs cooperate to produce work that neither could manage alone. The site uses open source methods to develop good assignments and help bring them to completion. It pays professional journalists to carry the project home and set high standards; they work with users who have something to contribute. The betting is that (some) people will donate to stories they can see are going to be great because the open methods allow for that glimpse ahead. Who is it for? New Assignment is for people who are interested in the news, online regularly and accustomed to informing themselves. It does stories the regular news media doesn’t do, can’t do, wouldn’t do, or already screwed up. And it allows for participation that is effective. The site gives out real assignments— paid gigs with a chance to practice the craft of reporting at a high level. Because they’re getting paid, the journalists who contract with New Assignment have the time—and obligation—to do things well. That means working with the users who gave rise to the assignment. How can I find out more? Go to PressThink, Jay Rosen’s blog. (Bio.) He’s the one who thought it up. The Introduction is here. At that post, you will find links to reactions and comments, and other PressThink posts spelling out how it works. How can I contribute? You can comment here, and soon you will be able to donate in small amounts online. NewAssignment.Net will be running it’s first test in Fall 2007, so watch this site. Donors interested in contributing $1,000 or more should contact Jay Rosen via e-mail. If you’re a blogger, write a post about it! What are they saying? Lots. Here’s the Technorati search. And here are some of the initial reactions: Craig Newmark of Craigslist.org at his blog. “Journalism’s evolving, and we’re seeing the convergence of professional journalism and citizen journalism. Staci Kramer at paidContent.org. “A good example of how people at all levels are grappling with ways to turn the potential of community-based journalism into reality.” Kevin Maney of USA Today. “A terrific experiment that should teach us something about where journalism is heading.” Mark Glaser at the PBS blog Media Shift. “Perhaps there’s a way to harness the power of the easy, powerful connections we can make online to do a new kind of investigative journalism.” Amy Gahran at Poynter’s E-Media blog. “It’s intriguing.” Scott Rosenberg of Salon. “Old-fashioned editorial processes mesh with newfangled feedback loops and reputation systems to produce something new and unique.” Jeff Jarvis at Buzzmachine. “NewAssignment will not replace the work of professional news organizations. It will complement them, attacking the stories that are not being covered.” Andrew Nachison at Morph. “Certainly the open process will be a novel flip of the traditional approach to journalism, which itself works in some cases and not in others.” Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Daily News. “Let’s face it, the current system of investigative reporting has broken down.” Gal Beckerman at CJR Daily. “Let’s give it a whirl.”If there are images in this attachment, they will not be displayed. Download the original attachmentWhat is NewAssignment.Net? New Assignment.Net is a non-profit that tries to spark innovation in journalism by showing that open collaboration over the Internet among reporters, editors and large groups of users can produce high-quality work that serves the public interest, holds up under scrutiny, and builds trust. [...] [...] What is NewAssignment.Net? New Assignment.Net is a non-profit that tries to spark innovation in journalism by showing that open collaboration over the Internet among reporters, editors and large groups of users can produce high-quality work that serves the public interest, holds up under scrutiny, and builds trust. A second aim is to figure out how to fund this work through a combination of online donations, micro-payments, traditional fundraising, syndication rights, sponsorships, advertising and any other method that does not compromise the site’s independence or reputation. At New Assignment, pros and amateurs cooperate to produce work that neither could manage alone. The site uses open source methods to develop good assignments and help bring them to completion. It pays professional journalists to carry the project home and set high standards; they work with users who have something to contribute. The betting is that (some) people will donate to stories they can see are going to be great because the open methods allow for that glimpse ahead. Who is it for? New Assignment is for people who are interested in the news, online regularly and accustomed to informing themselves. It does stories the regular news media doesn’t do, can’t do, wouldn’t do, or already screwed up. And it allows for participation that is effective. The site gives out real assignments— paid gigs with a chance to practice the craft of reporting at a high level. Because they’re getting paid, the journalists who contract with New Assignment have the time—and obligation—to do things well. That means working with the users who gave rise to the assignment. How can I find out more? Go to PressThink, Jay Rosen’s blog. (Bio.) He’s the one who thought it up. The Introduction is here. At that post, you will find links to reactions and comments, and other PressThink posts spelling out how it works. How can I contribute? You can comment here, and soon you will be able to donate in small amounts online. NewAssignment.Net will be running it’s first test in Fall 2007, so watch this site. Donors interested in contributing $1,000 or more should contact Jay Rosen via e-mail. If you’re a blogger, write a post about it! What are they saying? Lots. Here’s the Technorati search. And here are some of the initial reactions: Craig Newmark of Craigslist.org at his blog. “Journalism’s evolving, and we’re seeing the convergence of professional journalism and citizen journalism. Staci Kramer at paidContent.org. “A good example of how people at all levels are grappling with ways to turn the potential of community-based journalism into reality.” Kevin Maney of USA Today. “A terrific experiment that should teach us something about where journalism is heading.” Mark Glaser at the PBS blog Media Shift. “Perhaps there’s a way to harness the power of the easy, powerful connections we can make online to do a new kind of investigative journalism.” Amy Gahran at Poynter’s E-Media blog. “It’s intriguing.” Scott Rosenberg of Salon. “Old-fashioned editorial processes mesh with newfangled feedback loops and reputation systems to produce something new and unique.” Jeff Jarvis at Buzzmachine. “NewAssignment will not replace the work of professional news organizations. It will complement them, attacking the stories that are not being covered.” Andrew Nachison at Morph. “Certainly the open process will be a novel flip of the traditional approach to journalism, which itself works in some cases and not in others.” Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Daily News. “Let’s face it, the current system of investigative reporting has broken down.” Gal Beckerman at CJR Daily. “Let’s give it a whirl.”If there are images in this attachment, they will not be displayed. Download the original attachmentWhat is NewAssignment.Net? New Assignment.Net is a non-profit that tries to spark innovation in journalism by showing that open collaboration over the Internet among reporters, editors and large groups of users can produce high-quality work that serves the public interest, holds up under scrutiny, and builds trust. [...]

]]> http://www.wordyard.com/2006/07/25/newassignment/#comment-48 SynapseChronicles - » Rosenberg on Newassignment.net Fri, 28 Jul 2006 07:28:48 +0000 http://www.wordyard.com/?p=1077#comment-48 [...] Scott Rosenberg posts a thoughtful response to Jay Rosen’sNewassignment.net. [...] [...] Scott Rosenberg posts a thoughtful response to Jay Rosen’sNewassignment.net. [...]

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