about us
 

What is BrooWaha?

Citizen journalism…is the concept of members of the public "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information”… Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Citizen Journalism

Journalism is the art and practice of providing people with the information they need to be free. But in our world much of professional journalism has become industrialized, trivialized, and monetized -- far more concerned with ratings, circulation, and return on investment, than the stuff of freedom.

Citizen journalism is the art and practice of sharing information with each other. Citizen journalists are artisans who work in the unshaped clay of events before perception has been hardened, glazed, and fired in the kilns of public discourse.

BrooWaHa is a community of citizen journalists and engaged, interested readers. We write as journalists intent on honing our craft. We read and discuss and evaluate as citizens who intend to remain free.

Broowaha is an open community of Writers, Reporters, Authors, and Engaged Readers - citizen journalists and creative writers who contribute articles on timely, provocative topics and creative works together with engaged members who love to read and interact with the writing Community. It is a place where you can find interviews with interesting people from around the world who are making news and impacting our environment. We’re more than just news, analysis, and opinion. Creative writers have a place here too for showcasing their latest works.

Maybe you want to write about something light and interview an indie-band, review an art exhibit, or the new coffee shop in town. We have sections for city and nightlife and culture for that. If you'd rather use Broowaha to expose the powers that be, in the politics section you can point out the good policies or stupidity of local politicians or provide analysis that might improve the bureaucratic nightmare experience at your DMV.

The Community Has Control

At Broowaha we have editors who screen stories so that vulgar or offensive do not get published and correct or amend the writing, but our editors don't have control over where stories end up on the front page or back section. That is determined by the Community. Join and become a member – as a writer, reader, or both.

At the end of every story, you'll notice that you can rate stories based on its journalistic integrity, interest, and other factors. The higher one’s ratings, the more likely a story will have maximum exposure and maybe be on the front page. The Rating System also recognizes individuals who contribute regularly to the Community. As your Overall Rating builds up so does your role and prominence in the newspaper and Community.

The front page of this newspaper belongs to every member of Broowaha. If you don't like what you see - Vote. If you like it - Vote.

Getting Started

Once you've joined Broowaha, all the keys to publishing on the site have been unlocked, or as a reader to engage with the Community.

  • Profile: Set up your profile and determine your preferences - Let us know who you are.

  • Write: read the Guidelines below.

  • Get Engaged - Visit the Newsroom: Chat live with other writers, see the most recent site activities, and find tips for new stories.

  • Messages: Send private messages to your favorite writers.

  • Friends: If you like a writer, then become friends with them by visiting their profile. Then you'll be updated whenever they write a new story.

  • Statistics: Get feedback on your stories and improve your clout in the Community.

  • Rate and comment on other stories: That's how you can affect what is on the front page and throughout the site.

  • Call for contributions: As events occur around the world, we will call for articles and analysis on events to create a broader perspective on the news. The sum of our collective writing is greater than the parts. Respond.

Writers' Guidelines and Good Journalism

Re-think. Don't rewrite. Sure, the national headlines set much of the agenda for our daily discourse, but let's not just rewrite yesterday's story, or simply express our opinions about it. Let's report on how that story is affecting people we know, where we live.

Look for the Significant Detail: The pungent quote that emerges from an unexpected source; the small event that resonates with the larger stories; the personal reality that confirms or confounds the conventional wisdom.

Never begin with the pronoun "I". The story is about what happened, not what you think of it. The story is what's happening to all of us, not just to you. Here, unlike on a personal blog, you are the reporter, not the story.

If you build it, we will come. Stories have structure. To be compelling, a story requires a title (headline) that tells us what it's about; a lead that draws us in and makes us want to know more; and a structure that leaves us feeling that the writer did a complete job. One basic framework to use for the body of your article is easily remembered by its acronym, SEX: first, explain the situation, and then explain how things got to be this way and finally eXtend things into the future.

Close the circle. The best stories come back at the end to the place where they began, to remind us what we have been considering and to give a sense of completion.

Think Locally: This is what you know and see best. Write content that serves the readers in or visitors to that particular city. What's going on in your city right now - an election, a cultural event, or a social cause? People want to know what's going on around them from people in the know. That can be you!

Cross your eyes and dot the teas. Please take care of the basics of grammar and spelling, and that means more than running your Spell-Check. Everything I am writing in this peace passes Spiel-Czech. Snot good enough.

Info for Creative Authors. We invite original submissions of humor, essay, memoir, short story, and poetry with a maximum of 1,000 words. This length restriction is somewhat limiting when it comes to short stories in particular. But the types of stories we are looking for should be along the lines of vignettes, character sketches, and succinctly drawn slices of life.

Top News