by Lola Batling

Created on: May 19, 2008

Do you keep hearing the word podcast? No, its not a special mold for peas. It's person person created content. Anyone can do it, even you! That's such good news for the budding, or not so budding citizen journalist. First things first, a brief history of radical citizen journalism.

It seems like ever since there was a press, people wanted to be a part of it. Many believed that getting a journalism degree was the only way. Of course there have always been people who didn't agree, and alternative presses were born.

That was still too much for some, so some creative people found a way around that. People are a creative lot.

In the late 1970s a new thing was emerging, well more then a one thing. It was called a zine. Short for magazine. They were made with glue and paper and copying machines. Zines were made by people who often had no qualifications and were not considered journalists. To many this is the roots of citizen journalism. With the growth of the internet the internet makes the zine both easier to find and more obscure. Then in late late 1999 (There's some debate on the actual date) something called a podcast emerged. Podcasts are like independent pirate radio but legal. They are created by average people just like you. Podcasting is like an audio zine. It costs virtually nothing to produce and is relatively easy to get started. There are thousands of people everyday creating podcasts. Podcasts topics vary in topics and lengths. There are no limit to what people can talk about.

A person wishing to discuss politics may start a podcast about how to be a more informed Democrat. A mother wanting to keep parents abreast of school issues may start a podcast for her school. Journalism does not just belong to a precious few, it belongs to everyone. The internet has only made this more apparent. To begin your career as a podcasting journalist you just need a web host, and there are many specially designed podcast hosts out there. All you have to do is be ready with your mic and lap top and you could be ready to inform thousands of people. Of course if you're going to start podcasting be smart about it. Have your topics picked out before your show. Take your notes and do through fact checking. Just because you're a citizen journalist doesn't mean you have to give sub par and un researched reports. Besides we all know solid news and good reporting are what bring listeners back, it doesn't matter how catchy your opening music is.

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