The closing down of Reporter.co.za at the end of April (possibly temporarily) presents a major blow to paid-for citizen journalism content in South Africa. I personally made use of Reporter.co.za, and intially saw it as a handy income for articles I was blogging on this site [when it was known as The Road To A Home] anyway. There are not many citizen websites that pay for content - Korea's OHMYNEWS pays around R100 an article, but selection is strict, and video blog Metacafe pays for content based on hits.
Reporter's 'taking a break' comes at a time when South Africa's social and political climate, even the country's future, was never less certain. It is likely that as various factors take hold and squeeze consumers (locally and internationally), consumers will finally mutate back into the communities of connected human beings they once were. The internet may to some extent manage, maintain and enable this transition, but so too can ordinary good neighborliness.
Cookies, anyone?
Reporter.co.za to take a break
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