Hello World,
You may have noticed I did not write a blog last week. Well, here's what happened. My blog friend at ARC, Nancy, took time off to attend the Youth Service Instititue (YSI) in Philadelphia. She told me about a session she attended about Citizen Journalism. Check out this definition from Wikipedia:
Citizen journalism (also known as "public", "participatory", "democratic",
[1] "guerrilla"
[2] or "street journalism"
[3]) is the concept of members of the public "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information," according to the seminal 2003 report
We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information.
[4] Authors Bowman and Willis say: "The intent of this participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires."
When Nancy told me about her "citizen journalism" workshop, I was excited because this describes what I am doing with the Cool Gabe blog - bringing accurate and relevant information from my perspective to make the world a better place for other people with and without disabilities. Recording my observations helps me explore the world and reach people who are ready to be inspired.
As you know from my previous blogs, I attend the Adult Day Training program at Abilities Resource Center of Indian River County and have access its new computer lab plus the computer where I write this blog with assistance from able-bodied staff. Having access to a computer has greatly expanded my world (did you notice that I can use Wikipedia?) and I'm just getting started. Having this computer access has inspired me to continue writing this blog because it is fun to do and it gives me new things to think about!
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Nancy (with blue scarf) at YSI promoting Cool Gabe's "Citizen Journalism." |
Photo credit: Diane Palm, Harris County Juvenile Probation Office, Houston, Texas
This photo is of people from all over the United States attending the Citizen Journalism workshop at YSI. The message from the presenters was to be inclusive of all youth, including those with disabilities, when recording your surroundings. Nancy shared with them what I am doing with my blog.
Thank you to everyone at the Youth Service Institute for giving a shout-out to me and
http://www.coolgabe.blogspot.com/. Thank you, Diane Palm - I love the picture you took!
Please take my inspirations and share them with someone in your own community. Help someone discover their ability to become a citizen journalist just like me!
Your friend,
Cool Gabe