I’ve just discovered your website. I love what you’re doing and the new direction you’re taking. Good luck to you… and to all of us! May we all do well here.

Miranda

Comments by Orato’s founder, Sam Yehia, indicate a shift away from citizen journalism. In a recent news release, Yehia said: “We are positioning ourselves as a competitive and attractive client for reporters who want to add Search Engine Optimization and Web writing to their arsenal of skills as freelancers looking for additional income online.”

Clearly these writers may be trained journalists, or people aspiring to be journalists. In its news release, Orato said it “officially re-launched its press and recruitment ad campaign today with an eye to attracting both novice (students and recent J-school graduates) and veteran journalists looking to expand their employment options in the current economic environment”.

It is incorrect to say that I am “lamenting” what has happened to Orato. My blog post explains how Orato has changed from a policy of allowing people’s voices to emerge, with as little editorial interference as possible to one of focusing on providing, in Yehia’s words, “concrete and trustworthy information that is objective and under-reported”.

Orato’s new approach assumes that contributions from the public are only valuable if they “adhere to the conventions of the craft”, rather than looking at this as an opportunity to create new forms of journalism. For example, blogs are a format that emerged outside of journalism and at one point, were not considered a legitimate form of journalism. Not all blogs are journalism, naturally, but blogging has developed into as a powerful platform for news and comment.

I wish Orato the best of luck in its new direction and will follow its progress with interest.