keep up with what's new and what's next
Follow along with iReport staffers as we build a new kind of news site.
Imagine if you were putting out full Webcasts every day in
addition to working part-time at Macy's and carving out a little
time to be a piano constructor. That's everyday life for
WCNreporter,
one of the hardest-working people in the business. At the time of
writing, he has already submitted 66 iReports. We expect that
number to be outdated pretty soon.
The Virginia Beach, Virginia, resident sent in
questions for Sens.
Hillary Clinton and
Barack Obama.
The Clinton question was used in a "Situation Room" interview. He's
also commented on
rebate checks,
the
rising cost of
food and
severe weather in
his area.
Roller coasters
and
amusement parks
round out the diverse topics he covers. Do you have a story to
tell? Scour our
assignment
desk and send us your own photos and video.
The huge response from iReporters with questions for Sen.
Barack Obama was matched with another very strong turnout for Sen.
Hillary Clinton. More than 60 video and photo questions were
submitted. Hundreds of comments and additional questions were
posted on iReport.com. Discussion touched her candidacy, fuel
prices and the economy.
Clinton responded directly to questions from
sutton85 and
WCNreporter,
which were chosen to air on "The Situation Room." The discussion
also became a major part of stories on CNN.com, where we also had a
chance to feature other outstanding
some
submissions that weren't aired. Did you get a chance to watch
the interview? What answers and comments affected you the most? Any
questions you'd like to ask?
Share
your response as a video commentary.
A few weeks ago we noticed that the printed page view numbers on
iReport.com stories seemed awfully low. So we did a little digging
and learned that the number of views that appears on every
iReport.com story page wasn't being calculated the right way. That
meant that stories like
kbc9393's
amazing
video of this
week's China earthquake was marked as having about 5,400 views
when in reality it's more like 237,000. That's a big difference,
and it reveals one more accurate measure of the impact iReport.com
stories can have. So today we're happy to announce that the bug is
fixed. From now on, new stories should get the right view count
(and we're working hard on adjusting all the old stories, too).
That fix was part of a few site updates that rolled out this
morning. Also included: a new "last updated" date on stories so you
can know when they were edited and support for thumbnail images in
our RSS feeds. Hooray! Hope you like the updates as much as we do.
iReport.com will be down for maintenance for about 15 minutes starting at 8 a.m. ET on Wednesday. If you've got news that can't wait while we're down, please send it to ireport@cnn.com. Thanks!
During a developing news situation Monday night, iReporters took
the initiative to keep each other informed about what was
happening. Repeat iReporter
adicembre
alerted the iReport.com community of what he said was a police
stand-off in Buffalo, New York, involving a man with a gun to his
head. iReport.com users responded with updates in the comments.
Others
chimed
in as well,
pointing users to
adicembre's
discussion.
iReporters throughout the Buffalo area continued to follow
the story as it developed, and it concluded peacefully with the man
taken into custody, according to local affiliate WIVB. Just another
great example of how iReport's community of users stretch the site
in new ways to show its full potential.
We asked iReporters to send in questions for Sen. Barack Obama last
week. Now it's time to put Sen. Hillary Clinton in the hot seat.
The Democratic presidential candidate will be in CNN's "The
Situation Room" tomorrow. She'll talk about her campaign and what's
next for her bid for the White House.
What would you like to ask Clinton? Submit your questions as
comments below or, better yet,
send
in a question on video. You could appear on CNN!
From the devastating cyclone in Myanmar to the heated Democratic
presidential race in the U.S., major news events have brought
visitors from around the world to iReport.com. We'd like to
recognize a few outstanding newcomers.
iReporters
avotius and
bmgeisler
both witnessed Monday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake in central China.
Check out their powerful photos of
people in the
streets in Chongqing and
students camping
outside Sichuan University. Storm chaser
MDouglas sent
in
amazing video and
photos of a tornado in Neosho, Missouri.
Ohio iReporter
theperish
sent in
video of people
waiting in line for 23-cent pizzas at Papa John's in Cleveland.
And rocker
OTEP took the time
from her touring schedule to
send in a video
question for Sen. Barack Obama.
At iReport.com, your stories can be a part of CNN's global news
reporting.
You've probably noticed that red
"On
CNN" stamp on hundreds of iReports throughout the site. Every
one of those iReports has been vetted by CNN producers for use in
CNN's coverage. iReport.com images, video and stories appear often
on CNN TV and CNN.com. iReporters themselves often share their
personal stories or eyewitness accounts of major breaking news on
CNN air.
We think that's really special and hope you do, too.
There's no guarantee that your iReport will appear "On CNN,"
but the ones that do share some common traits. Stories that have
the "On CNN" stamp typically:
What's the world like
just
outside your front door? Take a walk down the sidewalk in your
suburb or show us your favorite local hangouts. Playgrounds,
streets, fire escapes. Just you, friends and family in your native
habitat.
You might find inspiration in some of the vignettes we've
seen from
LadysHoodJnl.
Like her, you could document the
scene inside a local
market, or film a
local performer.
There's also the old
"beasty bar,"
and the simple sight of
people dancing.
She's even submitted video from a
plumbers and
pipefitters union rally and given us a look at a living
garden
scarecrow. Use your imagination and
let
your photos and video do the talking.
It seems there are plenty of people who'd like to ask Sen.
Barack Obama a question. We received a huge response from
iReporters, with
more
than 100 video and photo questions and dozens of comments here
on the blog. Topics ranged from rising gas prices to health care to
potential vice presidents.
Obama responded directly to
two
video questions on "The Situation Room," and we featured some
other
outstanding submissions on CNN.com.
Did you watch the interview? If so, we want to hear from you.
What did you think of the iReport questions? What was your favorite
answer? What should have been asked?
Give
us your take in a quick video commentary.
And if you didn't catch the interview on TV, you can
watch
it here.
Would you like to ask Sen. Barack Obama a question? Well, here's
your opportunity.
The Democratic presidential candidate will be in "The
Situation Room" on CNN tomorrow to discuss what's next in his
campaign in his first interview since his significant win in North
Carolina and narrow defeat in Indiana.
So, what question would you like to ask? Submit it as a
comment below or
send
in a question on video.
Chile's Chaiten volcano awoke after more than 9,000 years
Tuesday -- spewing clouds of gray smoke, toxic gas and hot rocks,
and forcing the evacuation of residents of the small town of
Chaiten.
iReport.com user
MattFuta
shared this powerful
video of a town
completely covered in ash. We think it's a pretty compelling
story. What do you think?
When iReport.com launched a few months ago, we started off with a set of Community Guidelines that set the ground rules for the site. What's welcome, what's not, what's news. It's pretty simple by design, just a framework for all of us to lean on as we build a brand new kind of news site. But now that we're several weeks and thousands of stories in, it might be time to look at them again. Do you see something that's missing? Let's talk about it in the comments.
When we first saw
yosubkim, he
sent a video
describing his
mother with one simple word: perpendicular. His response was
perplexing, and certainly not expected. That was the first of
several great videos illustrating his unique perceptions of current
issues and events. Most recently, he's discussed
global gas
prices and his
notebook of
personal goals.
Take a look at his videos. You can do it, too. If your
computer has a built-in camera, being an iReporter is as simple as
clicking a button, saying a few words and making a quick upload at
iReport.com. Take a second and
send
your video response. It's a great way to share your views.
iReporter
PrarieGhost
first caught our eye last month when she sent in a photo and story
about
gas prices in a
rural Kansas town called Gas. The submission not only led to
catchy headlines, it inspired thoughtful discussion among
iReporters, with 58 comments and counting.
And as severe weather rolled through the Midwest, she was on
the scene with
video footage of
lightning and heavy rain and a
photo of dark
clouds in the sky. Her latest iReport offers a closer look at
Gas,
a witty and
engaging video that captures the spirit of the small Kansas
town.
We'd love to get a closer look where you live. Capture a
slice
of life in your town or show us why you love
the
city life.