PerthNorg

That link is to the proposed merger of Google and Double Click…

Perhaps with some of the funding, PerthNorg will be able to splash out on a new clock!

The time is 11:50 WST, but the post shows 10:50 WST.

It was originally a link to our story - maybe they thought it was too much exposure!

Google has it cached. Post is below.

Site seeks cash to grow grassroots journalism
17th April 2007, 7:30 WST

The popularity of local news website, PerthNorg has spurred founder Bronwen Clune to pursue some seed capital to tap into the burgeoning demand for this new wave of interactive news and the rise of citizen journalism.

Described as a local YouTube for news, Norg is short for news organisation. Stories on the site are contributed by its Citizen Journalists — registered users who post news, links to other online new sites, videos, podcasts or photos.

But the biggest difference between PerthNorg and a traditional online news site is that it has no editor.

The news is ranked by users, who can determine which stories get top billing by voting for their favourite report or they can post comment.

Launched last August, the genesis of PerthNorg was a reaction to the media coverage of the Iraq war and the rise of so-called hotel journalism.

“During the Iraq war there was a complaint about the way the media was reporting the war … a lot of the journalists weren’t actually getting out into Iraq they were sitting in their hotel rooms, reporting on information fed to them by the US Army,” Ms Clune said. “A group of Iraqi bloggers started to write about what was actually happening to them and what they were experiencing.”

The criticism of the mainstream media coverage of the Iraq war got Ms Clune thinking about how you could build a website that integrated reader comment or this new form of reporting — blogging.

PerthNorg has more than 700 registered users and this week it gained international recognition after receiving an official honouree distinction in the Webby awards — an international competition that rewards excellence on the internet, including websites, interactive advertising and online film and video.

Ms Clune said the Webby award meant PerthNorg was competing with global media giants such as AOL, CNN, Bloomberg and Yahoo.

“So to be honoured along with them after only a few short months is pretty amazing,” she said.

“I also think it shows that the media is a different playing field from what it used to be — small players like us are starting to make inroads.”

The interest in PerthNorg has encouraged Ms Clune to explore other opportunities for its online platform and it plans to raise about $650,000 from seed investors to fund these expansion plans.

Opportunities to expand the business and launch new websites are likely to focus on niche areas or specific interest groups such as a sport Norg.

CATIE LOW