The Future of Photojournalism

Forbes has a write-up today on citizens' photojournalism and Spy Media, the latest cameraphone picture market place, which opened Monday and compares their service with those of Scoopt and Cell Journalist.

"SpyMedia joins Scotland-based Scoopt, which launched shortly after this summer's London bombings and Cell Journalist, another citizen-photojournalism Web site with big ambitions.

Cell Journalist and Scoopt scan each picture and often talk with the photographer to determine authenticity, but Spy Media's process is automated. “We don't censor,” Brian Quinn, co-founder, says. “News is like fish. It goes bad quickly. It needs to be available immediately.”

Spy Media's site is public, meaning anyone can scroll through its library of photos. Cell Journalist requires a monthly subscription that sends alerts to media outlets in specific geographic locations.

Spy Media also hopes to gain from such smaller markets. Photos of a single local football game could be sold to a local newspaper or broadcaster or to parents. “There's big money to be made at that level,” Tom Quinn says.

Related articles:

-- CellJournalist - New agency for citizen reporters

-- Scoopt's first sales and the arrival of US competitor Spy Media

-- Seen it, shot it, sold it

-- Scoopt Sell your photo to the press

emily | 8:15 AM | Citizens as Camera Phone Reporters |
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