New bibliography of CCJIG resources

Sue Ellen Christian, CCJIG research co-chair, has revamped our bibliography of resources about civic and citizen journalism. The new bibliography includes both online and print resources. You can view the new bibliography as a Web page or as a printer-friendly PDF.

Our Winter 2008 newsletter is now online
	It features: 'Help redefine our focus' 'Haas book now available' 'Convention ’08 brings 8 sessions' 'Annual conference in DC sizzled' 'Ph.D. program has public focus'

Help redefine our focus

By Jack Rosenberry
CCJIG Chair

An old adage says the only constant in life is change. As educators, we embrace this because we want students to change through our contact with them. If a student isn't different at the end of a course - with new knowledge, skills or understanding - we haven't succeeded.

But a fundamental element of life is the tension between change and identity. Many readers of this column made a change in their professional identity when they stopped answering the question "What do you do?" by saying "I'm a journalist" and started saying "I'm a college teacher." ...

> Read more in our Winter 2008 newsletter.

Convention '08 brings 8 sessions

By Jack Rosenberry
CCJIG Chair

Of the nine convention panel ideas proposed for the 2008 convention in Chicago, we managed to get eight on the schedule.

Two were shifted into a pre-convention event, and six (including a mini-plenary proposed by a CCJIG member but put forward by newspaper) became a part of the general convention programming from Wednesday through Friday.

CCJIG is the lead sponsor on four of these six, and co-sponsor of the mini-plen and one other panel.

In scheduling, we also were able to schedule all of our research on the same day -- Thursday, Aug. 7. Here, then, are the sessions in which CCJIG will be involved: ...

> Read more in our Winter 2008 newsletter.

Annual conference in DC sizzled

By Andrea Breemer Frantz
Outgoing CCJIG chair

I've now learned that I need to rest up before I go to the August AEJMC conference.

There are simply too many excit- ing panels, papers, and extras offered in the program annually that require me to rise early and finish long after the sun has set.

This year's conference in Washington, D.C., was no exception. Held during possibly the hottest week of the year in the city, ideas, best practices, and research innovations were also sizzling Aug. 9-12, 2007. " ...

> Read more in our Winter 2008 newsletter.

Crowdsourcing: Where civic, citizen journalism meet

By Jeff South
CCJIG PF&R Chair & Web editor

As our group's Professional Freedom and Responsibility (PF&R) chair, I look for examples of civic and citizen journalism in the news media. These days, I don't have to look far. I often see civic journalism (engaging citizens in community affairs) and cit- izen journalism (tapping the audience as information providers) intersect in a single word: crowdsourcing. ...

> Read more in our Winter 2008 newsletter.

ODU's Public Journalism students get published

HamptonRoads.com is publishing stories written by undergraduate students at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. The stories are generated by a workshop class, called Public Journalism in the Digital Age, taught by CCJIG board member Burton St. John. The class bridges fundamental concepts of journalism with key citizen-focused precepts of the public/civic journalism movement.

The Hampton Roads portal, which hosts the online version of The Virginian-Pilot, has created a section called "Student Voices." In December, it published two stories by St. John's students:

It’s Not Just Studying Anymore: Life in the Navy ROTC
By Krysten Warren

The Quiet Side of Sex
By Ashley Jarvis

Here are other stories that have emerged from the Public Journalism in the Digital Age course.

The class provides students tools and guidance so that they can identify a civic issue, seek out both official and citizen voices and then compose a story.

Join the discussion -- on the CCJIG blog

We've created a blog to discuss issues about civic and citizen journalism.

Our Summer 2007 newsletter is now online
	It features: 'CCJIG puts focus on future' 'Building the next new news organization' 'Leadership's just another word for plenty more to learn' 'Guide to CCJIG program at DC convention'

Building the next new news organization

'Journalism that Matters' is theme,
emphasis of pre-conference session

By Leonard Witt

Each day there is another story about newsroom job cuts. One day the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The next the San Francisco Chronicle, the next the Greensboro News & Record. The old financial model that has paid for democracy's journalism is crumbling. If we don't take action, quality journalism could crumble too.

The Journalism that Matters DC session Aug. 7-8, 2007 at George Washington University is one step towards taking action. There will be no speakers, no panels, just journalists, academics and citizens working collectively to launch a prototype for a new news organization for the future. …

> Read more in our Summer 2007 newsletter.

Contact info for CJIG officers

Get published at the PJNet Web site

The Public Journalism Network (PJNet) is looking for materials that will inform journalism scholars and practitioners.

Worthy items will be posted. The process can happen almost immediately for timely insights or for referrals to interesting links. There is also room for longer essays and for shorter calendar type items. Really anything that will advance the journalism performance or scholarship can be worked into the site. That includes reviews of recently published or soon to be published books that would interest public journalists or scholars.

Items can be sent to Leonard Witt at Lwitt@kennesaw.edu.

Of course, if you want to be an active participant in improving the daily and long-term development of the site, your help is welcome. Again contact, Witt.

To keep current in the world of public journalism also sign up for the PJNet newsletter at www.pjnet.org.

Paper abstracts from 2006 convention

Paper abstracts from 2005 convention

Paper abstracts from 2004 convention

Paper abstracts from 2003 convention

Archive of previous announcements