iReport

1. What is ireport.com and what is its reason for living, what’s it there for?

            Ireport is a blogging community, set up by CNN for several different reasons. One reason for the life of this community is for the users themselves (http://www.ireport.com/about.jspa), as claimed by the founders of the site.  However, there is a double purpose that benefits both CNN and the users.  Motivation of “15 minutes of fame” creates incentive for users.  It also becomes an outlet for free, usable content for CNN to use on their website and television program.  Also, it places CNN in the better graces of the bloggers- there is a sense of unity amongst this new “blogging world” and the “old journalism” news source.

 

2. Who was it founded by and what was the idea at the start?

             In August of 2006, CNN began iReport as part of its own website.  In the beginning, every story and submission that appeared on the site was vetted by a CNN producer before appearing on the website or television.  However, after several instances (namely the Virginia Tech shooting—after CNN got video footage from a student witnessing the shooting) CNN decided to make it a separate site altogether.

 

 3. Who owns it now and how is it organized, business-wise? 

            CNN bough the URLs ireport.com and i-report.com from Rick Schwartz for $750,000 at the beginning of 2008. Business-wise, this blogging community is now organized as a website separate from CNN itself.  The content coming from the bloggers on the site are unfiltered and unedited.  It is organized as a user-generated site as the users are the ones who promote people to “superstar” status, newsiest stories, and even filter stories.  Seven staff members go through and edit numbers of stories for CNN to use. (http://advancingthestory.wordpress.com/2008/09/11/what-cnn-has-learned-from-ireport/ )

 

4. What’s the business model, as far as you can determine?

     By creating a site such as ireport.com, CNN has the ability to use the bloggers’ news and material for free on their website and television program.  CNN basically owns the right to utilize contributor’s photos or videos whenever they wish. (http://www.lastpodcast.net/2008/02/11/cnn-to-launch-ireportcom/).  This free material from contributors all over the world becomes one less expense for CNN to have to pay.  Since CNN has to cover news 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, this helps them fill some of their time.  Also, CNN reporters cannot be everywhere at all times.  This website is an outlet for CNN to receive information and footage from people in the midst of breaking news.  CNN is also able to see what is charting as “news” according to the ratings of iReport members.

 

5. Who is the target audience, in the old fashioned sense: the likely consumer of the site’s content?

                  The target audience is people who are in the midst of news-  who are aware of what is going on in the world, and have something to say about it.  The likely customer is one who has access to stories before any other news source does, and is willing to share his/her experiences and opinions to personalize his/her news by putting in individual stories and perspectives.

 

6. What can users do at ireport.com? what are their powers, so to speak?

      Users at ireport are able to upload videos, audio, pictures, as well as comment on the staff blogs.  However, a feature that is lacking is the actual blog aspect.  Rather than letting the users write their own blogs, they are only allowed to comment on what staffers have written. Therefore, ireport.com has been commonly associated with the site youtube.com, as opposed to another blogging community.

 

7. Who are the ideal users of the site, the ones ireport.com is truly made for?

            The ideal users of ireport.com are people who have something worthwhile to contribute to the assignment desk, which is a way to get people to participate in stories that just may make it on CNN. The ideal user is the one who can feed CNN “worthy” material- in the sense that it contains both quality as well as quantity.  They help to distinguish what a “good” story is, as well as good photos, videos and audio files.

 

8. What do the most active users–the power users, the super-contributors- tend to do at the site? 

                  The superstars are the members who constantly update their stories and their profiles.  They keep up with the relevant topics, respond to many of the assignments and stay away from irrelevant, restricted material.  Because superstars are determined by ratings, contributions, popularity and site activity, they tend to be the most proactive members of the site.

 

9. How does that differ from what more casual users would do?

             More casual users might post irrelevant material, or even post nothing.  Instead of being a proactive part of the community, they may just chime in whenever a post catches their interest or they feel like voicing their opinion.

 

 10. Anything especially nifty or extremely effective about the technology available at the site? 

             There is a feature called map, which shows a map of the world, and allows you to see where the iReports are coming from, as well as iReporters.  This display of news, is a cool feature, which may attract users.

 

11. How about any features of the site that work really really well?

             The iReport toolkit is a handy feature that presents amateur writers, photographers, video makers and people who wish to record audio files with guidelines on how to do their job efficiently and effectively.  The list on the front page of the site, which categorizes posts under latest, highest rated, most viewed, most commented, most shared, on CNN and newsiest gives its members easy access to find specific posts.  The “newsiest” link, especially, works well on the site as it brings its users to posts that are fresh and popular. Users of iReport.com who are active members of the community, contribute posts, and earn high ratings, receive the title “superstar” if they score in the top 20 percent every week in each of these categories.  This feature works very well for it provides its users with an incentive to be proactive on the site.  

  

12. What do the ireport.com community standards say?

             The iReport community standards say that the views and content on the site are in the hands of contributors, not CNN.  Every member of iReport.com must be no younger than 13 years old.  Although iReport.com offers eclectic posts, its news usually focuses on current events or new information learned about a past issue. This site is primarily utilized to post videos, photos or texts.  If members making posts believe their material may be viewed as gruesome to other members, they should mark the discretion advised checkbox and a warning will be posted on its page.  The use of pornography, obscene/lewd content, and content of a violent, dangerous, illegal, predatory, or racial nature are not tolerated on iReport.com and if more than three postings by an individual member are taken down, his/her account will be disabled.  Every member must adhere to these rules and be on the lookout for any violation of this rule for if spotted, he/she must click on the report violation link.

(http://www.ireport.com/guidelines.jspa)

 

 13. How active would you say the users are in communally enforcing those standards?

      “So we’re asking you to help.”  In September of 2008, the professional staff at iReport.com posted a blog concerning a user who was attaching links to inappropriate Web sites, which went against Community Guidelines.  Because a blog was posted asking its users to utilize the Report Violation button if they come across inappropriate content, it’s evident that users are not very active in enforcing the standards.  In October, another blog was posted about “community concerns” which targeted the increase in racial comments, personal attacks and inappropriate posts on the site.  Although the staff at iReport has deactivated the accounts of members found guilty of violating community guidelines, they continue to ask members to be on the lookout for such violations and to review the site’s Community Guidelines and Terms of Use.

 

14. Divison of labor:  What work does the ireport professional staff do to make the site “go?”

      “iReport. Unedited. Unfiltered. News.”  This is the headline of iReport.com and holds true, to an extent. The professional staff only overlooks posts when flagged, monitors the site and has the power to step in and make any necessary modifications.  The professional staff at iReport holds a prominent, yet back-seat role on the site.  Although the members post photos, videos or audio files, the iReport professional staff post the actual blogs.  The staff also creates prompts in the assignment desk to push what stories are wanted (as well as what has a better chance of making it on CNN). 

 

15. As distinct from… What work does the user community do that makes the site go?

      The user community is the heart of iReport.com.  Each member is responsible for sending in videos, photos, audio files.  The members of this community are given a voice through their posts and comments that give life to the site.  By continually adding posts to the site, the users allow iReport to run smoothly and well. The users participate and follow the news, which is evident with “a 176 percent rise in photo and video contributions since the same time last year” (http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,1834490,00.html).

  

16. What kind of reputation system is there for contributors to the site?

      The contributors to this site are a diverse group of people, ranging in age, gender, marital status, occupation and residence.  This site is not geared toward a specific person, which lends itself to the assortment of its contributors.  For this reason, it has a reputation of containing posts that vary from serious issues, to moderate to comedic, light ones.  The contributors are known to be quick and at the forefront of news.  In a blog posted in October called Ahead of the Curve, the professional writers at iReport commented on how two iReporters posted a story and sent in a video regarding Obama’s encounter with “Joe the Plumber.”  Although this story was picked up by many blogs and news reports, it was two iReporters who first commented on the encounter. 

However, a post stating that Steve Jobs was rushed to the hospital after suffering from a severe heart attack, damaged the contributors’ reputation.  The post was removed, and was claimed by iReport staff to never have been verified.  The controversy that followed was intense, with several blogs and newsources commenting on the “problem” with this new media, saying this was the first “failure” of citizen journalism.

 

17. What other mechanisms are there for creating trust at the site and how do they work?

      To establish trust at the site, the creators of iReport.com have established a “Terms of Use” which they expect each member to read and abide by.  On the first page of the site, it is written that posts are not edited, fact-checked, or screened before they are posted.  The professional staff at iReport does review the posts and deletes, modifies or changes any that they feel requires them to take such action.

 

18. What do you think binds the user community together?

             Every member is given the opportunity to create a personalized profile for others to learn about the person he/she is.  The professional staff at iReport.com continually holds contests to engage the members of this site into the community.  About three months ago, iReport.com held a contest that asked members to send in the most creative, meaningful commercial about the 2008 campaign, which was voted on users of the site.  By holding such contests, the iReport staff joins the community together.  The map feature on the site brings the user community closer together for it allows members to see exactly where other iReporters and posts are coming from.  iReport doesn’t only allow contributors to submit their news, but also to react to other contributors news—it lends itself to conversations, that help to bind the community.

 

 19. Why do you think people come back to ireport.com? What are they getting by returning?

             iReport draws people back because it is an up-to-date and broad site.  It does not have one major focus as it does not have one concrete definition of news.  The members decide what they deem as newsworthy by giving posts high ratings, leaving comments for or against posts or sharing posts with others.  People enjoy this freedom because it allows them to tell stories, through videos, photos or texts without having to worry if it is actually newsworthy.  As long as the community guidelines are abided by, all news is welcomed by iReport.com.  With such a friendly, open atmosphere, who wouldn’t revisit this site?  People are also intrigued by the potential moment of fame they can receive if their post is picked up by CNN and shown on their program. 

 

 20. Finally, is the community at ireport.com capable of doing actual journalism?

 At the 2008 Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism, iReport.com received honorable mention for innovative online journalism.  Some of the most distinguished people in the media industry recognized this site for its ability to create actual journalism.  Four iReporters—Maggie Dowling, Kevin Neugebauer, Katy Brown and Zennie Abraham—went live in-studio with Roland Martin on his CNN special, “What They Didn’t Say…in the Debate.”  These people were chosen by the iReport videos they posted regarding one of the debates between Obama and McCain. These four iReporters represent the iReport community as a community with the ability to create journalism.  Superstar iReporters are aggressive and are not hindered by the fact that they do not have a degree in journalism.  iReports have been posted on the site of iReporters interviewing Sarah Palin or interviewing people during Obama and McCain rallies.  iReporters, like any reporter, are capable of being at the forefront of news and carrying out the same tasks of a journalist. 

 

21. Is it capable of doing great journalism?

            iReport.com is not capable of doing great journalism because it does not have its own established identity. It is associated with CNN.com and in a sense, works underneath it.  The members of iReport.com are not able to write the actual blogs and thus they cannot take part in this aspect of journalism.  iReport.com needs to build up itself up and be recognized as separate from CNN.com before it will be capable of doing great journalism.