Sharing and reusing content in newsrooms is nothing new. But embracing Creative Commons unlocks infinitely more potential, completely free of charge. Increasingly, news outlets around the world embrace Creative Commons to enhance their coverage, boost their readership, and move towards more sustainable business models.  Whether you work for a smaller newsroom seeking high quality, newsworthy…

Journalism provides a crucial public service. Access to verifiable information and stories that question the underlying terrain of power is critical to democratic societies. Yet, journalism as we know it faces existential new challenges. Increasingly, journalists face work-halting financial and ethical challenges, as well as threats to their physical and digital safety, when sharing information…

Earlier this year, we met Patrick Böhler, a journalist and executive editor of SWI swissinfo.ch, the international news service of Switzerland’s public broadcaster. In our conversation, we discussed the ways that various media companies and journalistic projects have used Creative Commons licensing to increase public access to their stories. We were excited when Patrick circled…

By ZMcCune (WMF) [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

Melody Kramer is a news and public media expert with a special gift for uplifting open knowledge and demonstrating the power of the Commons.

We need your help! Over the next year, we will be investigating and reporting on 2-3 of the most compelling stories about collaboration in the commons. We want to tell the story of when and why a creator first decides to use CC, the kinds of connections they make online, how they invite and encourage…

photo by: Jeremy Harris “Could you please print out your website on company letterhead and mail it to me to process your request?” This is the kind of question Anil Prasad received from music industry professionals and publicists when he began Innerviews in 1994—the internet’s first and longest-running music magazine. The internet has evolved since…

This Saturday’s International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy will unveil a months-long collaborative effort — the Data Journalism Handbook, a free, CC BY-SA licensed book to help journalists find and use data for better news reporting. Data Journalism Handbook – Cover Mockup / jwyg / CC BY-SA A joint initiative of the European Journalism Centre…

ABC Mobile Studio Caravan provided by Australian Broadcasting Corporation / CC BY-SA This is one for all those interested in the use of CC licences by archives, broadcasters or news organisations. CC Australia has just announced that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia’s largest public broadcaster and news service, has used Wikimedia Commons to release a…

Dan Gillmor is a journalist and established author, having previously published We the Media back in 2004 under a CC BY-NC-SA license. His subject is the changing landscape of media, and the focus of his first book was on distributed, grassroots journalism and its effect on the Big Media monopoly of news. Six years later,…

Remember back in April when I first mentioned Student Journalism 2.0, ccLearn’s pilot project to bring Creative Commons and the power of new media into high school journalism classes? Well since then ccLearn and two SF Bay Area high school journalism classes have been busy getting the ball rolling. Yesterday, The Paly Voice, the student-run…