Green Renter – Citizen Journalism and Sustainability: Emerging Trends and Influence in the New York Context and Beyond, with Ben Jervey and Aaron Naparstek.

January 12, 2009
7:00 pmto8:30 pm

 

A Conversation with Ben Jervey, OnEarth, and Aaron Naperstek, Streetsblog

Citizen Journalism, a term that simply describes journalism that is carried out by non-journalists, or amateurs rather than professionals, has a storied history in the United States and New York City. However, the emergence of the internet and the capabilities of free self-publishing and instantaneous information distribution that it has enabled have revolutionized and multiplied citizen journalism’s effects, range and relevance on a scale never before seen. Today, a successful independent blogger has the ability to disseminate and share her reportage, analysis and commentary on any subject of interest to audiences that are, in some instances, comparable in size to those of traditional media sources such as New York Times or CNN.

Citizen journalism has emerged as an important advocacy force for a number of local and global sustainability issues that may be regularly under-reported or treated with bias by the mainstream media, or ignored by critical decision makers and politicians. Numerous blogs here in New York have emerged to report on and advocate for specific issues, such as local water quality impacts, contested land uses and transportation concerns. These blogs not only provide a free and open platform for citizen journalism that members can easily participate in; they also serve as grassroots rallying points for interested communities that can work to build momentum and pressure, earn mainstream media attention and coordinate political action.

Join Ben Jervey, web editor of Greenlight, the Natural Resource Defense Council’s citizen journalism project, and Aaron Naperstack, editor-in-chief of Streetsblog, for an open conversation about the growing relevance of citizen journalism within the context of sustainability activism.


Posted on Monday, January 5th, 2009 at 11:22 am | Tagged in Solar One Events | posted by Neidl

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