NewsTarget Citizen Journalism project a big success; new writers welcomed to join

Thursday, September 27, 2007 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...) Tags: citizen journalism, health news, Natural News

Since the launch of the NewsTarget Citizen Journalism program a month ago, over 75 writers have joined the program, and new writers are signing up each week. This program allows writers, authors and news reporters to earn an income while getting their stories published on NewsTarget.com. It enhances the diversity of stories on NewsTarget and allows a community of writers to contribute to an important public education effort about natural health, eco-conscious living, renewable energy, disease prevention and similar topics.

NewsTarget is now accepting applications from writers, authors and news reporters. Click here to apply to be a writer. Additional information about the program is available at: http://www.newstarget.com/021982.html

We are currently seeking writers who would like to cover one or more of the following topics:

• Profiles of interesting natural health companies or products
• Natural cosmetics, skin care and personal care products
• Environmental news: global warming, climate change, etc.
• Freedom news: Free speech, health freedom
• Yoga, pilates, Tai Chi or other gentle exercise systems
• Nutrition and phytonutrients
• Raw foods and superfoods
• Renewable energy, hybrid vehicles
• The housing bubble, the U.S. dollar, national debt and personal finance
• New energy technologies (cold fusion, ocean water, etc.)
• Vibrational medicine, homeopathy, energy healing
• Natural modalities: acupuncture, chiropractic, massage therapy, etc.
• Nutritional supplements, ingredients and product reviews
• Foods, food ingredients, food marketing, food safety, etc.
• Dangerous pharmaceuticals, side effects, FDA warnings, etc.
• Feedlot cattle, meat production, agriculture, pesticides, etc.
• Chemicals in the home, in foods, in products, in medicines

... and many other topics!

You can apply right now at:
http://www.newstarget.com/webseed/authornew....

How the program works

Writers who participate in the Citizen Journalism program are given access to a web interface where they can submit articles. They communicate with a managing editor via email to approve topics beforehand, then they submit completed articles along with their Google Adsense code.

When their story is published, the writer's Google Adsense ad appears above the article, giving the writer the full revenue generated by Adsense. Google then pays the writer directly. This allows the writer to earn an ongoing revenue stream by leveraging the popularity and considerable reach of the NewsTarget site.

In order to control quality, we reject stories that are off topic or that aren't up to our quality standards. So far, the quality of the writing has been very strong. As an example, view this article: FDA Moves to Shut Down Red Yeast Rice Distributors Online by Citizen Journalist Brad Chappell. It's an example of the kind of quality news reporting we're seeing from participants in this program.

Writers like Brad are already generating revenues from their efforts, although most participants are far more interested in simply working with NewsTarget and sharing their knowledge than earning a living from this activity. Revenues vary widely, based on the interest in the topic, but NewsTarget promotes the articles in its daily e-mail newsletter, through keyword linking, and through incoming search engine clicks.

(NewsTarget generates a considerable portion of its own revenue through Google Adsense, too. Given that we don't take money for recommending nutritional products, and we don't charge companies to write about their products, we depend very heavily on advertising revenue and book sales to fund our operations.)

One additional benefit to authors is that each article includes an author byline section where authors can include links to their own websites, names of books or organizations they're working with, and other details. This allows authors to publicize themselves and their projects at the bottom of each article that appears on NewsTarget.com.

Honest news from real people

Here at NewsTarget, we believe that independent writers and authors are now the only sources for getting honest, accurate information about what's happening in our world today. Mainstream media sources are hopelessly influenced by politics and corporate interests, and newsstand magazines, newspapers and cable news shows have devolved into little more than sensationalized shouting matches and commercially-influenced propaganda.

The internet is now the place that intelligent people go to get their information. Newspapers, magazines and cable news programs remain primary information sources only for those brainwashed masses that prefer to avoid thinking for themselves. That's why we're thrilled to be able to offer a program like this Citizen Journalism project: It empowers individuals to take part in the "information democracy" that makes the internet so important for the future of human rights, free speech, government accountability, corporate ethics and so much more. The internet is the pillar of information freedom today, and even projects like Wikipedia are hugely important for the free flow of information (which is exactly why the traditional old-school media loves to attack Wikipedia!).

With our Citizen Journalism program, we hope to empower more individuals to write with passion and wisdom about topics that impact our collective future. So if you're interested in being part of this amazing new opportunity to get published, impact readers and earn a revenue stream at the same time, apply to our program using this link:

http://www.newstarget.com/webseed/authornew....

Please note:
• Excellent writing skills are absolutely essential. We have high quality standards on writing.

• This is all about NEWS writing. We're looking for timely reporting on current events relating to personal and planetary health. This isn't a program for publishing editorials, recipes, poems or other non-news content.

• There is no volume requirement to participate. Whether you can write one article a month, or ten a month, we'd love to hear from you.

• All news content you submit must be your own writing. Plagiarism is not tolerated. You cannot submit other content as your own.

• Are you a book author? Sign up and you can submit excerpts from your book as self-contained article. This is a GREAT way to publicize your book, gain an audience for your work, and earn some revenues at the same time. Apply to learn more...

There is no fee to apply. Sign up at: http://www.newstarget.com/webseed/authornew....

We hope to welcome you as a new Citizen Journalist on NewsTarget!