Buzzflash Review of 'Moving a Nation to Care'

Yeah! Buzzflash reviews Moving a Nation to Care:

Ilona Meagher is a product of the new citizen journalism. Coming upon the plight of GIs with PTSD returning from Iraq, she decided to start an online account of the plight of troops with PTSD. In turn, this drew the attention of other blogs and websites.

Eventually, she developed enough material for a compelling...wake-up call to the nation to help those who served our country. ...Beyond the compelling subject matter of "Moving a Nation to Care," Meagher's book is evidence that citizen journalists are creating a new media that is more relevant, in many ways, than the mainstream media.

Additional reviews. Click on 'Article Link' below tags for much more...

ePluribus Media spoke on this whole citizen journalism thing Buzzflash mentions. Last week, Cho wrote about her recent Wisconsin Associated Press Editors Annual Meeting keynote address, "Bridging the Gap Between Traditional Media and the Citizen Journalists."

A year ago, as a participant in the UMass MediaGiraffe project in Amherst, I was struck by how, even in a symposium dedicated to sticking our necks out and sharing ideas across boundaries, the attendees, myself included, seemed to cling to our own tribes. Print media over here; broadcasters over there; citizen journalists and bloggers in that corner, activists in yet another.

Much of this self-segregation may have been caused by the venue itself, an underground concrete space with dark large cavernous rooms. It wasn’t until the last day that real sharing began, and by that time, most of the representatives from the traditional media had gone home.

But much has changed in a year.

Cho continues (or rather begins):

Steve Outing in his June 2005 PoynterOnline article identifies 11 phases of citizen journalism, moving from the “one to many” to the “many to many” model of news. The 11 phases go from a simple dabble one’s toes in the water to a full scale, powered-by-the-people journalism effort. His article seeks to give advice to the traditional media trying to understand and harness the energy and dynamism of online citizen- produced news.

Two years later, a recent google on the search string citizen journalism produced over 1,280,000 hits. Clearly, it is a term with many connotations and flavors, but the common element is the so-called non professional contributing to the news (and some say the noise) in the public sphere. My talk identified the five types most commonly known. ... [they include hyperlocal, participatory, activist, blogger, and aggregator]

Activist Journalism advocates for an issue, but is not limited to politics, though the most commonly known are. Two such examples are the work of Ilona Meagher and Susie Dow who research, document and advocate for their issues: for Meagher (another Media Giraffe alum), [PTSD] in returning veterans resulting in her recent book Moving a Nation to Care and for Susie Dow, the missing details about civilian contractors in theaters of war.

The term Bloggers is sometimes used interchangeably with that of citizen journalists – but more and more “blogger” is becoming the pejorative to refer to the pajama clad, wild-eyed rantist who, working in solitude, cuts and pastes material from traditional media publications and keyboards a screed. Despite that perception, within the ranks of the solo blogger are many outstanding experts – several of whom are far more well-informed in their area of expertise than the Washington beltway pundits.

These bloggers provide an often untapped wealth of information about their subject matter. One well-known example is Juan Cole a University of Michigan professor, who through his blog Informed Comment – is now regarded as one of the leading experts on the Middle East.

Please read the rest as the Buzzflash review propels us out:

Meagher cares deeply about how this administration crafted a war that maximized the likelihood of increasing the occurrences of PTSD -- and then didn't provide adequate funding or support for its victims. Like wounded Iraqis, GIs with PTSD are just so much collateral damage to the White House.

What makes "Moving a Nation to Care" particularly significant is that it is grounded in personal accounts of how many GIs with PTSD arrived at where they are. This is a well-researched book that combines facts, details and personal accounts into a compelling call for assisting our own victims of a fraudulent war.

Ilona Meagher truly supports our troops and cares about their well-being as they return to a country. ... Meagher identified an injustice done to our troops and has sought to do something about it with the power of the pen.

That, our friends, is a true patriot.

Cheers and thanks to Mr. Karlin and everyone at Buzzflash.

And ePluribus Media without fail, too.