OhMyNews Gears Up in Japan
South Korean citizen-media website OhMyNews began recruiting on Friday for its new Japanese-language site, which is due to launch next month. The site started in South Korea in 2000 under the banner “every citizen is a reporter” and immediately began challenging the mainstream media with its news site written by readers. It currently utilizes around 40,000 citizen reporters, each of whom get paid about US$20 for a newsworthy submission. The JV with SoftBank for Japan was announced on 22 Feb.
The Japanese service will be headed by Shuntaro Torigoe, a veteran newspaper reporter and TV commentator, and is backed by a multi-million dollar investment from Internet and telecommunications operator Softbank. The Japanese arm of the service, run by OhMyNews International, has already opened an office and has about 15 full-time staff. Continue>>