Citizen Journalism on CNN-IBN, over the mobile now

Posted on November 27, 2007
Filed Under Mobile Applications |

CNN IBNCNN IBN, a leading news channel in India and pioneer of Citizen Journalism in the country, has gone a step further now: Anyone can now send in videos and images taken from their mobile phone to their Citizen Journalism account on the channel’s website IBNlive.com over MMS without the need for a PC. The enabling partner for the same is a start-up Mobshare.in, a mobile social network.

The service will go live in 15-20 days, confirmed Mobshare’s COO Sony Joy in an exclusive chat with TechGazing. All one needs is a GPRS connection to send videos directly to one’s account on IBNlive. There is also a feature to send an alert to one’s friends over SMS, with a link which can be clicked on for viewing on the recipient’s mobile itself says Sony. All this makes sharing very easy, especially for those who do not have access to a PC.

While this could no doubt be a good thing for CNN-IBN, making its Citizen Journalism program much more accessible to millions of Indians including those who do not own digital cameras and PCs, what is in it for Mobshare? “We get visibility. And we are looking at it as a strategic partnership, giving us access to all of Network 18’s television and online properties.” Network 18 is the parent company of CNN IBN.

MobshareAnd there is the promise of revenues too. Advertising revenue generated on this section of IBN Live will be shared with Mobshare.

Could this be the beginning of the next leap of faith for both the Citizen Journalism movement in the country as well as the way we use our mobiles? Could be, with half a billion mobiles expected to be in circulation in India within a matter of years.

Comments

6 Responses to “Citizen Journalism on CNN-IBN, over the mobile now”

  1. Mike Williams on November 29th, 2007 7:07 am

    India seems to be doing a lot of things right when it comes to their journalism - a source of inspiration for many around the world.

  2. Aparna Mehta on November 29th, 2007 7:08 am

    Mobiles seem to be the future - in ways we never thought possible. Mobshare seems to be in the right place.

  3. Deepak Puri on November 29th, 2007 7:09 am

    This is amazing - my next upgrade will be to a phone I can do all this with.

  4. R. Venkatesan on November 29th, 2007 7:09 am

    impressed guys - keep at it.

  5. Anjali Raina on November 29th, 2007 7:10 am

    I wonder what the quality of such a message would be? Will it be easly viewable on the net? What about sound? I have to see it to be sure.

  6. Jerome on December 9th, 2007 3:55 am

    Wow!!
    This is great, really great.
    Next time I will buy a mobile with these facilities.

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