The idea of citizen journalism is being explored from a perspective of Global Citizenship.  Language and the freedom to talk about ideas and media in the public domain are central to the rights of individuals.  An enlightened society should have spaces in which everyone is considered a stakeholder in knowledge and the where everyone is welcome to contribute to dialogues. With this in mind, this area of the Ragged website is being developed to promote citizen journalism amongst all communities.

The Idea:

To get individuals elucidating and making clear their position on media articles and issues restoring some of the agency people have to participate in freedom of speech. This is an experiment to develop an online newspaper of a type – one which is journalistic but much more knowledge rich than the commercial media streams which may have narrowed in their focus and style, having less constraints to work within (such as word count).

It is not a platform for lobbying, evangelizing or marketing, and in the spirit of the project it is not-for-profit and holds close to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

A Suggestion on How to Write an Article:

Take a 400 word excerpt from a published article, quote it verbatim, and write an article expanding the subject. Learning about the journalistic codes which have been devised, include clear references and links to knowledge resources and create your own article around that… anyone can do it, it is citizen journalism. Building into collections of social and cultural comment, this, if not to educate is to edify rather than entertain.

This is part of the Fourth Estate and it is a virtual publication of anyone who has something to share in the public domain.  Embracing a deep and eclectic meaningfulness in that it is open to anyone.

Click Here For Journalism Resources

List of Articles

• Call for Case Studies: United Nations Disabled People’s Convention
• Censorship, Surveillance & Mass Infantilization by Paul Whittaker
• Concerning the Future of Edinburgh’s Central Library and the City’s World Heritage Status by Simon Byrom
• Critical Apprenticeships: The Wrights and the Wrongs of Passage
• Disaster Capitalism and War on Drugs: An Interview With Antony Loewenstein and Q+A Session at Recovering Justice
• Employment Support Allowance: Over 100,000 Claims Closed Following Death of Claimants by Alex Dunedin
• Inclusion Scotland press release: Scottish disabled people call for human rights to be met
• Is Plastic Really Fantastic? by Faith Canter
• Learning How to Survive Outcomes and Measurements Culture
• Mapping the Human Brain by Mike McInnes
• Natural Monopoly, Essential Goods and Regulation
• One Day Without Us Edinburgh: A Celebration of Migrants and Standing up to Xenophobia by Alex Dunedin
• Podcast and Annotated Transcript: I Daniel Blake – The Benefit Cuts Debate with Jeane Freeman MSP Social Security Minister, Paul Laverty Screenwriter, and others
• Podcast: George Monbiot; How Did We Get Into This Mess ?
• Podcast: NHS SOS; Five British Medical Association Council Members Speak Out
• Podcast: Richard Murphy, Taxation, Secrecy Jurisdictions and the Joy of Tax by Alex Dunedin
• Prof Peter Beresford Introduces Studies in Mad Matters
• Rest In Pieces: The Competition Commission
• The Energy Companies Wear No Clothes
• The Financialisation of Education
• The Stepford Nannies: How “Choice Architecture” is Building a Perfect Society by Paul Whittaker
• Welfare Reforms and United Nations Report: Grave and Systematic Violations of Human Rights by UK Government
• Why Are We Here? By Adam Smyth