Innovation for any product is the key differentiator between itself and the competitors. CNN-IBN has been in the forefront of innovating new formats, fresh programming, newer techniques and new ways of audience involvement. It was sometime in mid-May that IBN decided to go ahead with the never-heard-before concept of Citizen Journalism, with an aim to encourage citizens to shoot stories for the channel. This initiative was thanks to a tie-up with IDEA, one of India’s leading cellular mobile services.
The channel claims that they have already received two full stories shot by the common men. Such stories came to light during the brief deluge that hit Mumbai on the 4th July 2006. CNN-IBN and IBN7 claim to have received as many as 1,000 phone calls, 1,500 pictures and videos, and over 500 e-mails from citizens across the city, who gave flood updates and talked about the apathy of the civic authorities in their respective localities. One of the most recent and famous Citizen Journalist stories was the case of autistic children not permitted into an aircraft which was sent in by Prithviraj, a famous Kannada actor. The story had the desired impact as the Civil Aviation Ministry launched an inquiry into the matter, with action being taken on the Director of the HAL Airport in Bangalore.
Speaking to the press at the launch of IBN7’s Citizen Journalist initiative, CNN-IBN and IBN7 editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai said, "Citizen Journalist is an idea whose time has come. It's a way of engaging the viewer, of making him/her an active participant in the process of newsgathering, of making television news truly interactive. The big idea is to build a citizenry that is engaged with public life." Adding on to what Rajdeep said, Dilip Venkatraman, the Marketing Head of CNN-IBN says in an interview to The Hindu, "Our approach is that of inclusive journalism right from the beginning. Content being co-created is definitely going to be the way ahead."
Citizen Journalism made its first entry into the mainstream media during the Katrina Hurricane that hit the US in 2005, with CNN spearheading the cause. The public sent a lot of videos and images about the natural calamity and as a result struck instant rapport with the channel and its policy.
The channel claims that they have already received two full stories shot by the common men. Such stories came to light during the brief deluge that hit Mumbai on the 4th July 2006. CNN-IBN and IBN7 claim to have received as many as 1,000 phone calls, 1,500 pictures and videos, and over 500 e-mails from citizens across the city, who gave flood updates and talked about the apathy of the civic authorities in their respective localities. One of the most recent and famous Citizen Journalist stories was the case of autistic children not permitted into an aircraft which was sent in by Prithviraj, a famous Kannada actor. The story had the desired impact as the Civil Aviation Ministry launched an inquiry into the matter, with action being taken on the Director of the HAL Airport in Bangalore.
Speaking to the press at the launch of IBN7’s Citizen Journalist initiative, CNN-IBN and IBN7 editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai said, "Citizen Journalist is an idea whose time has come. It's a way of engaging the viewer, of making him/her an active participant in the process of newsgathering, of making television news truly interactive. The big idea is to build a citizenry that is engaged with public life." Adding on to what Rajdeep said, Dilip Venkatraman, the Marketing Head of CNN-IBN says in an interview to The Hindu, "Our approach is that of inclusive journalism right from the beginning. Content being co-created is definitely going to be the way ahead."
Citizen Journalism made its first entry into the mainstream media during the Katrina Hurricane that hit the US in 2005, with CNN spearheading the cause. The public sent a lot of videos and images about the natural calamity and as a result struck instant rapport with the channel and its policy.