GroundReportwas acitizen journalismwebsite that enabled contributors to publish news reports and videos. The site was owned by a nonprofit organization called Open News Platform until mid-2017. Since the site did not attract enough donations and advertisement revenue to sustain it, Open News Platform sold the GroundReport domain and platform to Search-Ladder, LLC in 2017.[1]Search-Ladder is adigital marketingagency.[2]The sale was completed in May 2017.
 | |
Type of site | Blog |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| URL | groundreport |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | 2006 |
| Current status | Sold to Search-Ladder, LLC |
Beginnings
editJournalistRachel Sternestarted GroundReport in 2006. She wanted to make such a site after her experience reporting onDarfuras an intern at theUnited Nations.[3][4]To run GroundReport, Sterne started Open News Platform, a not-for-profit501(c)(3) organizationincorporated inNew York.In 2008, Sterne expressed a wish to expand GroundReport with regional editions.[5]In 2009,BusinessWeeknamed Sterne one of "America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs".[6]
Content
editGroundReport used a Wikipedia-like model of volunteer editors and community feedback, combined with a star rating system. Contributors chose from a range ofCreative Commonslicenses.[7]On September 17, 2008, select contributors were given the ability to revise content in any article.[8]In May 2009, GroundReport implemented a vetting system that requires review and approval of every contributor.[9]GroundReport has a strict copyright policy and distributed vetting system. Contributors who plagiarized or posted copyright-infringing material were banned from the site.
Among the news stories covered by GroundReport's contributors were theUnited States presidential election of 2008,the2008 Mumbai attacks,the2009 Iranian presidential election protests,and the aftermath of the2010 Haiti earthquake.
According toAdweek,GroundReport received 29,187 unique visitors in December 2010, down from 60,802 monthly unique visitors earlier that year. TheAdweekjournalist commented: "Even during major events, GroundReport's influence was very small. As theBBC Newsreported in an article on Dec. 1, 2008, following terror attacks in Mumbai that had been covered on the site, 'it is worth noting that the original story on the GroundReport Web site has attracted fewer than 200 viewers so far, whereas untold millions have watched television reports in India and around the world.' "[10]GroundReport's content was syndicated toGoogle News.
In July 2015, volunteers from Injustice Anywhere began to help with restructuring, and a redesign of GroundReport launched on September 22, 2015.
References
edit- ^"GroundReport Will Shut Down April 30, 2017".GroundReport.Open News Platform. April 3, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 1,2018.
- ^"About Us".GroundReport.Search-Ladder.RetrievedFebruary 1,2018.
- ^"America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs".Businessweek.April 3, 2009. Archived fromthe originalon April 6, 2009.RetrievedJune 24,2011.
- ^"Q&A with Rachel Sterne, GroundReport".Archived fromthe originalon October 1, 2011.RetrievedAugust 18,2007.
- ^CNNMoney: Blogging for Profit
- ^"America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs: Ground Report - BusinessWeek".Archived fromthe originalon April 6, 2009.RetrievedApril 6,2009.
- ^CC citizen journalism site GroundReport re-launches; GroundReport TV launches officially - Creative Commons
- ^"GroundReport".
- ^"MediaShift: Citizen Journalism Networks Stepping Up Editorial Standards".PBS.Archived fromthe originalon February 10, 2013.RetrievedAugust 29,2017.
- ^"Who and What Is Rachel Sterne?".Adweek.January 25, 2011.RetrievedJune 24,2011.
Further reading
edit- New York Review of Ideas: Wiki Journalism: Is Rachel Stern’s DIY news the future of citizen journalism?
- America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs: GroundReportArchivedApril 6, 2009, at theWayback Machine
- CNNMoney: Blogging for Profit
- Silicon Alley Insider coverage of GroundReportArchivedSeptember 29, 2007, at theWayback Machine
