I earlier reported that NowPublic had laid off most of its staff, and commented that the site could face closure. The post was based on information from a well-placed and reliable source. Since the post was published, NowPublic co-founder Len Brody has said that NowPublic is not shutting its doors. In an exchange on Twitter, Len said: “Company is moving forward and working on the mandate we have been from

Some bad news from the participatory journalism start-up NowPublic, based in Vancouver. I’ve heard that the site had laid off most of its staff – 8 out of its team of 11 – and could likely be shutting down. (See update below: NowPublic denies it is closed) NowPublic was bought by Examiner.com last September. At the time, the plan was for Examiner.com and NowPublic to operate independently, retaining their unique

As 2008 draws to a close and a near year begins, I would like to thank all of you who read this blog for your time and support. Here are the top 10 stories on Reportr.net for 2008. It is an eclectic mix, dominated by the Spitzer scandal: How to follow the US election results online The mystery of Ashley Alexandra Dupre’s MySpace page The rights and wrongs of Ashley

An end of year list by NowPublic.com shows how far user-generated content played a role in the big news events of the year. According to its CEO, Len Brody: 2008 not only proved the concept of user-generated news, but also tipped the scales. The pillars of mainstream media, including the Associated Press, BBC, CBS and CNN have all made significant efforts to embrace the new model. Top of the list

The announcement that the Pulitzer Prizes in journalism, have expanded to include online only publications has been widely covered in the mainstream media and blogosphere. In a news release, Sig Gissler of the Pulitzer Prize Board said: This is an important step forward, reflecting our continued commitment to American newspapers as well as our willingness to adapt to the remarkable growth of online journalism. The new rules enlarge the Pulitzer

Image via Wikipedia BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones is the web’s most heard voice in the UK, according to NowPublic’s MostPublic Index. NowPublic describes the list as “a detailed barometer of whose voices are most heard in the digital landscape as new channels – Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and the like – transform how media is created and spread.” The list is dominated by BBC journalists, perhaps a reflection of

The crowd-powered site NowPublic.com, in partnership with the Vancouver Sun, has published its fourth MostPublic Index which identifies the web’s 20 most visible individuals in Vancouver. I was pleased to find myself on the list at number 13, as well as my colleague at the UBC J-school, adjunct professor David Beers at 19, and my friend Travis Smith at 16. The list is a veritable who’s who of new media

A piece on J-Source lays into NowPublic for reproducing content from mainstream media. Enticingly titled, The Revolution will be Plagarised, it argues that the citizens are failing us at NowPublic. As of 2 p.m., Sept. 11, nearly 60 per cent of the stories in the citizen-journalism site’s Canadian Election section consist of quoted material from other, largely traditional media outlets. The problem with this article is that it misunderstands what

Canada is in the throes of a general election, with just a few weeks of campaigning before voting on October 14th. Here at the UBC School of Journalism, we spent some time discussing what we could contribute to the media coverage. The big national papers, The Globe and Mail and The National Post both have extensive in-depth sections online, as does CBC News. We decided to take  different tack and

Vancouver-based participatory news site NowPublic.com has bought up Truemors, a rumor site launched by Guy Kawasaki in May 2007. According to CEO Len Brody, NowPublic will mesh Truemors content into its website: Truemorists are digging in the four corners of the web for the status of the rumor mill at any moment. It will drive leads to our members for stories going on around the world and give our readers