Things do not look good for Backfence, which hoped to help citizens report on their own communities. This from PaidContent.org:
Perhaps symptomatic of the difficulties in developing the local news, community and citizen journalism ventures as a business, especially a venture backed on: Backfence, the local news venture, has seen its co-founder and CEO Susan DeFife [...]
A few days ago I wrote about the death of friend and mentor Donald Murray, today I am heart broken to have to write about the death of Cole Campbell, another friend and mentor. The Reno Gazette-Journal reports:
Cole Campbell, dean of the journalism school at the University of Nevada, Reno, was killed today in a [...]
If you have been reading the SoCon07 unconference posts, you will know the premise is that the audience is collectively smarter than the panelists. I just got the first report on who is attending the Feb. 9-10 event. Here is one name: Mark Chernesky – Web Development Director for Turner Broadcasting. Not a panelist, an [...]
Here is a verbatim press release from the J-Lab at the University of Maryland:
J-FLASHJ-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalismwww.J-Lab.org January 3, 2007
APPLY NOW: FEB. 20 NEW VOICES GRANTS DEADLINEJ-Lab is seeking proposals to start up innovative hyperlocal news projects. Ten nonprofit community news ventures will receive up to $17,000 each.
New this Year: Seeking up to [...]
Here it is: 2.0 Style Networking in 1.5 Days, at SoCon07 starting Friday night February 9, 2007, right here in my hometown of Marietta, Georgia and then working its way up to the Kennesaw State University campus on Saturday, February 10. I am helping host it, and we are calling it “the first social media [...]
As you might know, the Harnisch Foundation under the direction of Ruth Ann Harnisch gave us a substantial gift to start the Center for for Sustainable Journalism at Kennesaw State University. We are up and running. Keep abreast of what is happening at SustainableJournalism.org 
Leonard Witt is the Robert D. Fowler Distinguished Chair in Communication at Kennesaw State University and the chief blogger of PJNet. His academic interests include public and citizen journalism and how to get citizens' voices heard. He has spent most of his professional career as an award-winning journalist.