Korean bloggers making a difference (ohmynews.com)

[donsu]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/03/31/spark.ohmynews/index.html


-snip-

Just outside Seoul, lingerie shopkeeper Lee Eun Wha is preparing for a winter sale, but when there's free time, she hits the keyboard and begins working as a budding "citizen reporter" for Internet media site "Ohmynews."

The Web site is paving the way for a new kind of journalism in South Korea, where every reader can be a reporter and the establishment is being forced to take notice.

-snip-

"Ohmynews" draws half a million visitors a day -- most are young and male, but nearly all are tech-savvy Koreans out to challenge the elite.

South Korea leads the rest of the world in terms of broadband Internet access, with more than seven out of 10 households having access.

-snip-

Political observers say "Ohmynews" influenced the election of outsider president Roh Moo-Hyun in February 2003 -- and it was no coincidence that Roh granted his first post-election interview to the site.

Oh Yeon Ho founded "Ohmynews" in February 2000. As CEO, he now manages a team of 50 reporters and editors, and heads a legion of 36,000 "citizen reporters."
-snip-
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looks like they have taken our 'be the media' several steps further.

good on Korea