I discovered my love for the new media in Spokane. Even though I only spent two days with the Spokesman Review newspaper in Spokane, it made the most impression on me as far as doing journalism on the web is concern. This “spokesman review” is maximizing the potential of the Internet to stay in touch with her readers. I spend a day and half in Spokane interacting with reporters and editors. I sat through one of their daily editorial meetings which are screened live on the papers website, as part of its transparent newsroom project. The objective is to let the public know what the paper plans to work on for the next day. The idea is for them to make suggestions if any to these stories. Residents of Spokane can ask questions as to why a story was written in a particular way and also make suggestions or even report on issue themselves through their blogs.

Citizen journalism has been in the news lately especially during the coverage of the Virginia Tech tragedy and thereafter. The role played by the students in getting the news out and in keeping everyone informed was remarkable. There are those who believe the age of citizen journalism has now fully arrived and those who believe the media is only now reaping the benefits of a citizen-led/citizen-initiated journalism effort that started less than a decade ago.

Gone are the days when big media were the people who got all the exclusive insights when a story broke. Ordinary citizens without press passes and training are now the people who are getting out the news and the professional media is running after them for the details by visiting their blogs, podcasts, inviting people to upload pictures, video and voice clips, etc. Such was the case in the coverage of the Virginia Tech tragedy. Everyone may not be aware that the first video and audio clips of the Virginia Tech incident were not captured by traditional reporters but by a student who used his cell phone. That cell phone recording of the scene was subsequently purchased by CNN. All media organizations went on the Internet to view blogs written by students as a way of updating themselves on the shooting incident.

Jeff Jarvis, veteran journalist and media critic who blogs at “buzzmachine.com” believes that this is the beginning of more changes to come in the architecture of news and media. He observes that there is a benefit to news organizations as they can get more first hand views of events from citizens than from a reporter who filters what needs to be reported. I share in Jarvis’s observation and anticipate an increase in the number of media organizations that put an effort into building a strong bond with their audiences through the Internet as well as other means. I see a kind of symbiotic relationship now emerging between many media organizations and their citizens.