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Citizen (Broadcast) Journalism?

By Matthew Felling

May 29, 2007 / 4:30 PM EDT / CBS News

(AP)

Remember when Time magazine made "Us" the Newsmakers of 2006. In the interest of accuracy, the word Time used was "You" along with a mirror on the cover, but I held the magazine one time, so my sophisticated magazine cover algebra leads me to the following equation: Me + You = Us. After awarding us this accolade, Time Magazine told Us "you control the information age."

Thank you, Time. Now "We" have spun that into our own TV news show. And might I just say: After all Our hard work, We really do deserve it.

According to Variety:

ABC is hoping to reinvent the newsmagazine for the YouTube generation with a show produced by ABC News but based on user-generated video.
Hourlong skein "i-Caught" will get a six-week run on the network starting Aug. 6 at 10pm on Mondays with an eye toward a midseason return if it performs as well as the network hopes.

This concept makes sense when one considers how many stories have been covered in part by citizen journalists of late, such as the tsunami of a few years ago, the Virginia Tech shooting and the London Terror attack. (And, in a less high-minded example: the immolation of Michael Richards.)

Looking over ABC's plans, it seems that "i-Caught" is going to be a hybrid news vehicle – the Prius of newsmagazines, if you will – with ABC News correspondents reporting news pieces based on the videos that come in from viewers. The venture's biggest obstacle is buried lower in the piece, with author Michael Learmonth observing that "much will depend on what rolls in, but …ABC News journalists also will shoot segments on video getting viral play on other sites." Left unsaid is what ABC will do if not much rolls in, or how they plan on adding value to viral videos already ubiquitous on the web.

Doubtless, user-generated video is a valuable complement to a breaking news story; sometimes it's the only glimpse we have at major events. But it's tough to build an entire week in/week out show based on the videos that are being sent in. The story concludes this way:

Recent stories that could have fit the show include former Sen. George Allen's "Macaca" moment, Alec Baldwin's abusive voicemail and David Hasselhoff's bizarre behavior -- stories all derived from nontraditional sources.

Macaca, Alec Baldwin's rant and Hasselhoff's weirdness: Good topics, all. But were we really not hearing enough about them before "i-Caught" came along?