As a journalist at 'News Plus', one of my responsibilities revolves around integrating crowdsourced content in our stories. A notable example is when we were covering the city's annual marathon. Instead of relying solely on traditional coverage, we used social media platforms to solicit photos, videos, and experiences from participants and spectators.
We encouraged our audience to use a specific event hashtag on Twitter and Instagram, which allowed us to efficiently track and sift through the incoming information. An essential aspect of this process involved meticulously verifying the information we received by cross-checking and cross-referencing. We also used tools like Google Reverse Image Search to ensure the authenticity of any images we received.
Incorporating this user-generated material allowed us to produce a rich and diverse representation of the event. The story resonated more widely because our readers were a part of the process. It received wider engagement compared to traditional event coverage, proving that crowdsourcing, when done diligently, can add valuable dimensions to news reporting.