Carnegie Sponsored Student Journalism Project Blogs US Military Strategy
There are blogs that break news, contribute to the rise and fall of politicians and blogs that document what’s happening with the family cat, but the News 21 approach to blogging is one of the most important initiatives I’ve seen in a long time. In terms of Journalism education it’s on the cutting edge. In terms of the importance of the news it’s monumental.
From Dan Gillmor of the Center for Citizen Media:
A terrific project called News21 — sponsored by two major foundations to help figure out the future of journalism education (and maybe journalism itself) — is under way. This is an important initiative, bringing in students and faculty from five major universities in a multi-year effort that involves some serious journalism about the intersection of security and liberty.
The gist of the project is that student journalists from 5 major US universities “fan out” across the globe and independently product broadcast quality material, which they then blog about. The students are covering the rapidly changing landscape of the US military around the world.
The American military is in the midst of a profound shift in strategy that is reshaping the military’s presence, and in many cases, its mission, around the world. Older, permanent bases are downsizing or being restructured; newer, smaller and more flexible bases, in places new to American troops, are being created. We are looking for ways to tell stories—cultural, economic, political and environmental—about the nearly half million men and women serving the security interests of the United States overseas.
The group also publishes a blog on the US/Korea situation, one covering Privacy, Civil Liberties and Homeland Security, a blog called Immigration Outpost, and the Homeland Security Money Trail.
For anyone who cares about the state of the US military, these blogs are bound to be the most important on the internet. For those of us who keep up with the shifts in journalism brought on by the popularity of blogs and social/citizen media - watch them like a hawk.
Sources: CITMedia.org, NewsInitiative.org Via: BoingBoing]
News 21, US Military, Group Blogging, News Initiative, Journalism
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