The Problem

Let’s face it, it is pretty difficult to decipher real news from opinion in 2021. In fact, that is the reason why we got into the industry in the first place. We wanted to report real news without fiction. Far too many outlets are reporting their opinions as fact, and we aim to break that trend. We want you to break the news and this is how it is achievable.

The summer of 2020 began to change the way news is reported to the masses. For the first time, hundreds of people across the country instantly became breaking news reporters and journalists, reporting on what was happening in their lives in real-time. These citizen reporters documented what was important to them, whether it was a protest, weather incident, breaking news story, wildfire, or even a government meeting. Typically, these videos are recorded, uploaded, or even live-streamed to social media pages. Then it was a waiting game. Would the video go viral? Would people even notice? Would the social media news agencies rush in and purchase the rights to the video to resell it to news organizations? 

Believe it or not, it is a huge business. Social media news organizations spend hundreds of hours searching through videos posted online. As soon as they think they have found one they think will go viral, they contact the user and ask for licensing rights. You approve and then wait, and wait…..and wait. Sometimes you are lucky and get your video picked up, but more often than not, it goes nowhere. 

Who We Are

The Citizen Media Group was formed to pose a solution to the news lifecycle. We do not aim to simply be another news organization; instead, we aim to break the way news is reported. For far too long, corporate, mainstream media controlled the news and the way it was reported. Our solution is simple really; to report the real news through the eyes of…YOU. 

When we started PT News Network, we never really thought it would be as large as it is. Each month, we average 500,000 pageviews of our articles, 8 million views of our videos, and 5,000 podcast downloads. Even with such a large reach, we still struggle to get traction on some of our articles. We typically report on breaking news 2-10 days before the corporate media giants pick up the story, and even then, they seem to get it wrong. They insert their opinions, “facts,” and bias into their reporting and muddle what the story originally was. It is time that changes. We are not in the viral video business, nor do we want to be. We want to highlight the NEWS. The stories and videos that are overlooked because of that one video of the kid picking his nose while a clown danced in the background would garnish more views. That is why we have created Citizen Stringer.

How Citizen Stringer Works

In addition to being the new home for our news articles and video content, we have begun the development of a new mobile application that will allow YOU to break the news. We believe news can, and should be reported by the people who consume it. With apps like TikTok, Snapchat, and Citizen on the rise, we realized something is missing. NEWS. So here is our innovative idea.

In our Citizen Stringer application, we will give users the ability to upload photos and video, providing a description of the content with a location. Once the content is uploaded, it will be watermarked and available for purchase through our online marketplace from commercial news outlets. Once purchased, the users will be credited with up to 80% of the price the image/video was sold. In addition, invited users will have access to accept job offers to cover events submitted through accredited news organizations inside the app.  In addition, users will be able to view and comment on the uploaded video content which will have a built-in rating system, allowing users to scroll through the videos by location and event type and rate its newsworthiness. 

Some additional features:

• Ability to earn money from your footage and images
• Ability to accept job offers to cover events
• Manual and Automatic Earnings Withdrawals
• Ability to upvote and downvote on videos and images
• Collaboration tools (work on a project with others)
• Ability to edit, blur, trim, and delete videos
• Ability to tag locations, people, and places
• Share videos and content
• And So Much More!

Some of the expanded features will include live streaming and batch upload from the web dashboard.

What We Need & What You Get

We are crowdsourcing $200,000 for the initial development and launch of the application. Our goal is to have the user-generated content portion of the application launched in the fall of 2021. In the interim, we will rebrand our PT News Network content and websites as Citizen Stringer and use our resources and reach to promote the application.

BREAKDOWN OF WHERE THE FUNDS WILL BE USED:

• Roughly 50% of the funds raised will be used for application development. We are in the beginning stages of development and plan to release the mobile application within 45 days of the crowd raise completion date.  We expect to roll out basic features initially and expand the features available as additional users enroll.
• The other portion of the raise will be used to lease an office space and hire additional writers, content creators, and hosts for Citizen Stringer. 

The Impact

Your contribution to this project will help us fundamentally break the way news is currently reported. It’s not about politics, or who gets the most clicks, but rather getting the news out there in an unbiased way, allowing the user to make up their mind about what is really going on throughout the world. Crowdsourcing the news allows us to report on what matters to the reader and user, not the advertiser or company behind the story. It will fundamentally change the way news is reported.

Risks & Challenges

Of course, there are risks with any venture. Censorship, influence, and the risk of being “canceled” are major inhibitors in the news industry. Having built a successful news organization previously, we are well aware of these risks. But these risks are the reason why we MUST build and grow this app. If not, then who?

Other Ways You Can Help

Just because you can’t financially contribute, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help:

• Your voice is powerful. Talk to people to get the word out and make some noise about Citizen Stringer.
• Indiegogo has some great share tools to help you get the word out!