The j-school at University of Maryland College Park has launched a unique Web portal to promote citizen journalism. Called the Knight Citizen News Network (KCNN), the resource is a part of UMD's J-Lab (The Institute for Interactive Journalism) and is designed to provide a toolbox for grassroots Internet reporters.

From their press release:

* A unique database of U.S. citizen media sites, searchable by keyword, town or state and displayed on a Google map.

* A "Things We Like" feature, starting with more than 20 cool ideas from sites around the country.

* An interactive overview of the "Principles of Citizen Journalism," with more than 40 audio and video interviews and scores of resources.

* The latest citizen media research.

* Mini case studies on how to train citizen journalists.

* A list of resources to jumpstart reporting.

Citizen journalism is the hot topic in newsrooms and j-schools across the country--will digital picture phones and DIY reporting change the face of news or prove too outsider to get any real stories? Is giving the news responsibilities to the masses like hiring citizen surgeons--a bad idea? In the words of Fox News, "we report, you decide."

Read Tish Grier's piece about middlemen in grassroots journalism and by all means, visit tomorrow's OJR Conference to get the skinny.

--Noah

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