NewsTrust

For a class assignment, I started checking out NewsTrust. About a week ago, I had never heard of the site, but after a few days of lurking around the site, I still hesitate to believe that it is an extremely useful tool for journalists.

NewsTrust is a non-profit organization that features news from difference sources including, newspapers and blogs. The site invites its users to review the stories they post and rate them based on facts, usefulness, fairness and originality.

I reviewed three stories. First, I posted a story from Yoga Journal. I always check in with Yoga Journal and see what’s going on in the Yoga world. It’s no secret that I total yoga junkie. Besides providing good information on yoga poses and tips, the site features great first-person accounts. The story I posted was about why yoga is dominated by females. When entering a yoga studio it’s pretty obvious that most people there are women, but I never knew why. This post, written by a man, explains why. A story about yoga and gender roles? This is my cup of tea.

The second story I reviewed was by the New York Times. My favorite section of the New York Times is the Health section. I think the stories in this section are the most interesting, and in many cases, provide the most useful information for our daily lives. The story I picked was about the Environemntal Protection Agency’s attempt to regulate the construction industry to help prevent cases of lead poisoning among children.

The third story I posted was a review of the film Date Night on WBUR.org. I love Tina Fey and Steve Carell, but watching the trailers of the film on television didn’t excite me all that much. The review pretty much said the exact same thing. While it’s always disappointing to read a negative review, it’s good to know what you’re getting yourself into.

Overall, I thin NewsTrust is an interesting tool, but not one I can see as being truly successful. I can’t imagine how people other than journalists would use this site. Maybe I’m just being cynical, but I do not think this is the type of site I can see myself using much in the future. At least it’s good to know the tools is out there.