Citizen journalism and economic development Sunday, May 01, 2005 In many communities, economic developers are hurt by a negative or antagonistic newspaper. These days are about to change. Across the country, citizen journalists are launching new online publications that provide an alternative voice. Last week, the Institute for Interactive Journalism at the University of Maryland announced 10 initiatives that will be funded by the Knight Foundation. Read more. In Northeast Ohio, for example, a group of citizen journalists has launched Real NEO. This site is designed to engage citizens in the ordinary business of economic development. Visit the Real NEO site. Another good example in Northeast Ohio is CoolCleveland. With over 30,000 subscribers, it is the largest on-line community in the region. Visit CoolCleveland. In addition, we have active bloggers who regularly comment on economic development activities. See Brewed Fresh Daily, Callahan's Cleveland Diary, Small Business Trends, Economic Development Futures. and Manufacturing Journal. This list is only a handful of the blogs in Northeast Ohio. George Nemeth of Brewed Fresh Daily is our Chief Blog Coach and he lists over 210 blogs in our region. posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links Some Background on EDPro Weblog The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it. One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site: Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber: Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking. Background on Ed Morrison Download some background information on me here.

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