be global podcast: David Cohn
In this inaugural edition of the be global podcast, Lee Schneider interviews David Cohn, founder of Spot.Us, a nonprofit that is pioneering community funded reporting. David has written for Wired, Seed, Columbia Journalism Review and The New York Times, among other publications.
While working toward his master’s degree at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, David worked with Jay Rosen as the editor at the groundbreaking Newassignment.net in 2006, which focused on citizen journalism and ways news organizations could explore the social web. David also worked with Jeff Jarvis from Buzzmachine.com to organize the first Networked Journalism Summits. Those collaborations led to Spot.Us.
What is the be global podcast?
Global collaboration is transforming the way we work and think. Making information transparent is more than just a technological task or a challenge to be met with more and better machines – it’s a very human responsibility. We’ve heard the expression ‘knowledge is power.’ Let’s consider an expansion on that: Global knowledge means power for everyone, opening the way to social change. There are visionaries who have found new ways to share knowledge and create more connection online. This is a podcast devoted to them, and also to showing you the best ways to connect online. Why will that help? We are all moving energy and information around on the web, so let’s discover the best ways to connect with each other. This will not only make us more efficient and better at what we do, but it will also generate more transparency, foster a sense of global responsibility, and offer more opportunities for equality.
Hey Lee,
Global podcast–very cool. David’s idea that just the presence of “citizen journalists” will help deter corruption makes good sense. It’s probably the best way for people to become active–use the power of the ‘net.
Of course, the downside is that amateurs don’t have the training and discernment of professional journalists and tend to see conspiracies behind every twig. But their work can alert the pros to skullduggery.
Hi Bob, thanks for commenting. I found David’s ‘put it out there in the light’ argument really powerful. He’s doing great work.