Citizen journalism got its start after the 1988 presidential elections eroded public confidence in the media; so says Wikipedia. I say it started around 1992, when George Holliday videotaped four LAPD officers beating Rodney King. Ever since, we’ve been inundated with cell-phone beaver shots, crimes caught on tape and disasters re-recorded for posterity. Citizen journalism is alive here, too. A quick look at a few forums:
Forgotten Voice: Written for (and often by) indigents, the newspaper features news, commentary, self-help stories and information on obtaining social services, and has a section on missing homeless.
Harmful Error (www.harmfulerror.com): Criminal law blog has funny review of the prison visiting room at Lovelock. Good: Tony Roma’s pork sandwich, atmosphere (“bright, cheery room”) and the “professional” staff praised. Bad: four-hour visits.
Helluva Heller (helluvaheller.blogspot.com): The subhead—“Blogging the 435th Most Powerful Member of the House of Representatives. Expected Expiration Date for this Blog: January 3, 2009”—lets you know what the blogger (who lives in Germany) feels about our congressman.
Minority News Watch: Put together by “Concerned Citizens of Las Vegas United for Fair Employment Opportunity.” The spring 2007 issue of the one-page newsletter accuses Mayor Oscar Goodman, former City Councilman Lawrence Weekly and City Council candidate Ricki Barlow of conspiring to keep jobs out of Ward 5.