Superdesk is an open source newsroom tool being developed by Sourcefabric to bring converged newsroom technology to any news organisation. Out of 426 entries from 75 countries, Superdesk has been nominated for Ashoka's Citizen Media: A Global Innovation Competition, supported by Google.
Eleven finalists will be open to a public vote with the deadline on Wednesday 23 November. "The finalists represent the most promising innovations for boosting media access and participation around the world," announced Ashoka on their website.
“There is a lot of hype and experimentation in citizen media, but very little real exchange of ‘hard and cold’ data about what has worked and what hasn't,” said Justin Arenstein, one of the competition judges and publisher and CEO of African Eye News Service and HomeGrown Magazines. “There also are very few places to find out which citizen media software and implementation models already exist, what is currently in development, and what synergies and partnerships are available.”
Superdesk's lead consultant is David Brewer a media strategist who has consulted on newsrooms for Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN and ITV. "It's a dream come true for me," he said. "Superdesk could become the publication tool of choice for all who want to deliver content to multiple devices and a massive boost to the establishing of independent media."
Individuals wishing to vote can do so through the Ashoka platform (requires login) or via Facebook (no extra registration required).
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