Volunteer "Reporters"

Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post looks at the phenomenon of "citizen journalists" as TV operations rely more on people who send in video clips for broadcast use.
The question, of course, is how long will it be before one of these news operations is hoodwinked by someone goofing on them or trying to push an agenda.

And, there's this weird little item about the Post and an advertising section.



Got a Camera? You, Too, Can Be A Network Reporter
By Howard KurtzWashington Post Staff Writer Monday, September 24, 2007; Page C01
Clarissa Jessup was next in line to ask a question of John Kerry at the University of Florida when another student "stole the mike," she says -- and handed her his digital camera to record the scene.
"The police had already threatened me with arrest" for refusing to "shut up" and sit down as the session was winding down, says Jessup, who adds that she had never met the other student, Andrew Meyer. When Meyer launched into a diatribe, was dragged away by campus cops and subdued with a Taser gun, Jessup, 22, quickly sent the footage to CNN -- because, she says, she wanted national attention and does not like Fox News.