UK based citizen journalism agency Demotix has signed deals with some of the world’s biggest media outlets to supply images from the protests in Iran.

Demotix acts as a middleman between citizen journalists and the media, collating and marketing content and images submitted by citizen journalists. Demotix licenses that content to media outlets, splitting returns 50/50, with citizen journalists retaining copyright over any image submitted.

The idea of on-selling citizen journalist contributions isn’t a new one, and a couple of companies over the years have tried and failed in this space. Demotix though didn’t go down the traditional celebrity picture path a number of other sites have tried, and instead focused on world events and geographic spread, particularly in places that may offer limited access to Western media. The strategy has delivered in Iran, with Demotix offering pictures that can’t be matched by the mainstream media. Companies currently paying for content from Demotix include Reuters, AFP, EPA, The New York Times, The Telegraph, El Pais and a range of other newspapers.

It’s great to see Demotix succeeding here, and it’s a bonus that those on the ground in Iran will be able to gain some compensation for putting their lives on the line to take pictures. The bigger picture though could be one of serious humble pie for mainstream media, who is often extremely quick to belittle the value of citizen journalists (including bloggers and amateur photographers), but are now forced to go cap in hand for access to content from them.

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Adding Diversity

The idea behind Allvoices is to add diversity to the standard news mix. Its creators aren’t aiming to replace traditional news media for any given audience, but rather to enrich it with often overlooked alternative viewpoints.

“Allvoices gives everyone a voice and uses these various forms of content to create multiple perspectives in order to stimulate global discussions,” Allvoices CEO Amra Tareen told The Inquisitr. “Our site is free from traditional editorial oversight and censorship characteristic of global media organizations,” she said.

Once registered, anyone can submit coverage through the Web interface, via e-mail, or over mobile messaging. The service has dedicated numbers set up to receive SMS and MMS content. Much like the meme concept, the site links related stories together to provide broader perspective into widely covered topics. Readers then validate content both from users and from traditional news sources to determine its placement on the site.

“We use our technology to elevate and leverage the individual voice,” Tareen said.

No Human Touch

While Allvoices does have a filter to catch any obscene submissions, it prides itself on being completely unedited by humans — a concept that sets it apart from competitors such as Associated Content and Global Voices, and one that’s close to its founder’s heart.

It was during a trip to her Pakistan that Tareen — who grew up both there and in Australia — was first struck with the inspiration for a community-driven, democratic news source. She saw the effects of the devastating earthquake that claimed nearly 80,000 lives and destroyed millions of homes — and realized there was no centralized global venue for people to report on their experiences. Instead, a small sampling of professional reporters controlled what most of the world saw.

Business Building

With a business and computer-oriented background — she studied engineering and computer science at Australia’s University of New South Wales, got her MBA from Harvard, then went on to work at Silicon Valley firms such as Sevin Rosen Funds and Ascend Communications — Tareen decided to give the idea a go. She secured $4.5 million in funding, recruited a team of industry experts, and set out to build an organization that — by its very nature — could not be biased.

“We want the emotions of our contributors to come through unfiltered,” she told The Inquisitr. “If somebody has a different perspective on a news event, they are free to post their own story next to other accounts of that same event. That allows readers to be exposed to different perspectives and opinions.”

Tough Topics

Allvoices doesn’t shy away from tough topics, either. The front page rivals any news networks’, jam-packed with content ranging from political issues to financial news and global conflict to medical developments. It all plays into Tareen’s goal of becoming a powerhouse for balanced information worldwide.

“Our model of merging user-generated content and professional news sources into one community will create the first true people’s media,” she predicted.

Only time — and, fittingly enough, the people themselves — will tell.

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The site announced a new Reporter Channel on its blog this afternoon. The channel will accept content from any self-produced news reports, community interviews, student programming, or even amateur commentary. Work from professional broadcast journalists will also be accepted.

Content can be uploaded via the YouTube Channel Info page within the My Account menu.

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