Minnesota Video Journalism Project Goes National

The UpTake, a Minnesota based video journalism project I work with is going to be getting a lot more national attention. Next New Network’s Veracifier will be promoting and showcasing video produced by The UpTake's correspondents. Most of those correspondents are in Minnesota, but with Veracifier's help The UpTake will soon have correspondents all over the U.S. to cover the 2008 campaign and election.

The first video from that partnership -- "New Orleans: From Evacuation To Eviction" went online today at both organizations' web sites. Watch it on The UpTake or on Veracifier.

The joint project is called Ground Hounds and will be on the ground at political events, giving individual reports on the local unique angles that are often lost in the spectacle of an election year.

The UpTake is a nonprofit media startup created by a diverse team of Minnesota-based political, business and media activists, including leading video blogger Chuck Olsen. The UpTake blurs the line between citizen and traditional journalism by training citizen correspondents in the practice and principles of journalism, sharing editorial responsibility with the public through an evolving interactive editorial calendar, then publishing a product that meets standards of fairness and accuracy. Correspondents who consistently produce the most compelling stories will become Veracifier’s Ground Hounds.

The UpTake will focus specifically on the 2008 elections, including the RNC in Minnesota and the DNC in Colorado.

Ground Hounds’ video reports will run every week on the Veracifier network. ‘Hounds’ will have profile pages where people can follow their personal blogs and videos. Veracifier and Next New Networks will work with The UpTake to harness its array of talented network producers and stars to support training sessions for aspiring independent journalists. With a little help, anyone can commit an act of journalism.