The Web has become a first stop for news in crisis (Americans turning to Web for news and opinion). The World Wide Web has facilitated the growth of noncommercial news services, or "infomediaries," several of which evolved from the 1960s alternative press. On the Web they offer not only information but community and networking, and morph from day to day. They become, in a crisis, a resource base for spontaneous and ad-hoc reuse for different purposes, or reversioning. Non-journalists are also setting up infomediary sites, representing points of view.

EXAMPLES

Information Clearing House "The truth is a combination of all information and all facts relating to a topic. The truth is a combination of all information and all facts relating to a topic." It's done by one person, so it's informal. The Australian
Broadcasting Company show, Media Watch, is entertaining and hardhitting.

Oneworld.Net: Iraq Under Pressure
OneWorld.net is both an information resource and a community. Its contributors are 1,500 non-profit organizations worldwide that share its vision of social values and justice; OneWorld editors rework nonprofit information on sustainable development and human rights for their readers. OneWorld gets corporate and foundation support.

More Info:
oneworld.net

openDemocracy: Iraq: War or not?
openDemocracy is dedicated to discussion and debate by “free thinking people around the world” on world events, dedicated to covering issues in more depth than mainstream media. Information is aggregated as issues or “themes” chosen by the openDemocracy editors. The content is then organized using its “Contested Exchange” model. The debate on Iraq appears under the “Conflicts” theme. This site is a project of a British foundation called Open Trust, with other major foundation support and individual contributors.

More Info:
www.opendemocracy.net

Alternet: War on Iraq
Alternet, which developed out of the network of alternative newsweeklies in major U.S. cities, “seeks to engage our community of readers in problem solving, community action and awareness of current events in the United States and abroad.” This site aggregates articles from alternative weeklies and websites throughout the U.S., and also commissions original journalism. Its War on Iraq “content file” has received millions of hits. The nonprofit is funded through sale of syndicated news stories, foundation grants, and individual contributions.

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The Wired Left Awakens
Americans turning to Web for news and opinion

IraqJournal.org
This ad-hoc harvesting of reporting on Iraq, from a left perspective, is assembled by a team drawn from listener-sponsored public radio station WORT-FM (Madison, WI). Correspondents Jeremy Scahill and videographer Jacqueline Soohen of Pacifica Radio program Democracy Now! coordinate the effort to aggregate independent audio, video and articles from journalists currently in Iraq.

More Info:
New Website Launched to Provide Grassroots Media Information Directly From Iraq

Military.com
Military.com, “the largest online military destination,” serves as an “infomediary” site for the military community and interested visitors. The site’s “War in Iraq” page aggregates information on the topic and resources to find out more about military personnel and equipment. In addition to news articles, there are many discussion boards dedicated to specific issues.

More Info:
Rallying around the flag online

Voices in the Wilderness: Electronic Iraq
Voices in the Wilderness, an international organization against economic sanctions on Iraqi civilians, launched an infomediary website with Electronic Intifada called Electronic Iraq, offering news, electronic newsletters, opinion columns and links to action resources.