Idea 3: Getting it Together (REJECTED BY KNIGHT; CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR OTHER FUNDING)

Describe your project:  * (2075 characters maximum, approximately 325 words)

Imagine one city where hundreds of media students are paired up with street level active citizens on a shared learning journey to explore and exploit the potential of social media.  Just think what impact something so simple could have on news, neighbourhoods and knowledge. Active citizens are a rich store of information, ideas and energy.  In many ways they are the reporters for their neighbourhood, the ones who really know who, what, where, when and why.  Many media students are still working in silos, concentrating principally on film, music, or television.   Both will benefit from “getting” the power and range of digital tools – so we want them to do that together.   The proposal is no more complicated that to create enough of a structure to bring the two together on a scale which can influence how an entire city communicates with itself and the outside world.

Who would want to use it, and why?

The information and campaigns produced by such a web of relationships will be of value (and challenging) to politicians, civil servants, citizens and mainstream journalism. The relationships established between individual young people and neighbourhood activists will be of value to the whole community as both take what they have learnt and apply it to their lives.

Nick Booth of podnosh.com lives in (and loves) Birmingham in the UK. He is a social media adviser for local and national non profit organisations.  He also produces podcasts and makes  documentary films.  Much of Nick's work is focussed on telling the stories of neighbourhood based active citizens.  Nick began his career as a BBC journalist.  In almost 15 years with the corporation Nick's work ranged from general news reporter through to news editor, political reporter, programme producer, presenter and director.  He spent his final few years at the BBC making documentaries for BBC 1, BBC 2 and BBC Radio 4.  His last job before going freelance was as Director of Birmingham City Pride, the independent strategic watchdog for the city of Birmingham.

Paul Bradshaw has worked in editorial website management and magazine editing, and has lectured in online journalism for the past six years. As leader for the degree in Web and New Media at Birmingham City University and deputy course director for the Masters in Television and Interactive Content, he is well positioned to explore the possibilities of technology with students and industry.  For the past three years Paul Bradshaw has been running the Online Journalism Blog, researching and analysing developments in new media and journalism.

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