‘Guerrilla’ writers on the loose

Online newspapering in the country will never be the same again with the convergence of "guerrilla" writers, journalists and the plain mirons in one "cyberhub."

Called the Guerrilla Information Network (www.gin.ph), the website claims to be "a central news bureau that practices open-source journalism."

According to its creators, "opensource journalism" in this age called The Third Wave "uses the Internet and other communication technologies to collect background information and eyewitness accounts from its community of readers (and) contributors to provide independent, grassroots coverage of the burning issues currently affecting Philippine government and society."

"This information is then disseminated through a cutting-edge website accessible to anyone," they say.

As a "non-profit organization staffed by mostly volunteers dedicated to restructuring the DNA of Philippine society at (the) grassroots level," the website claims to pursue "an in-depth, analytical and comprehensive alternative viewpoint for readers to better understand events and issues." GIN, as it is known, describes this as its "Third Eye Function."

Moreover, as it promotes a "Coordination Function," it aims to "provide a venue where groups interested in lasting change and reform can exchange information and coordinate activities via bulletins, announcements and discussion forums."

Lastly, GIN attempts to become "a venue for empowerment of ordinary citizens by allowing them to participate in the reporting, analysis and dissemination of relevant news, features and information."

To pursue this, GIN encourages its readers to register as members of the GIN community and contribute news, opinion and analysis, and information tidbits for publication in the website.

Contributions can be made in any language or dialect that is being widely used in the country. Documents, photos, audio and video clips are also being encouraged "to back up" the reports.

Through the practice of open-source journalism, GIN claims to be "different from corporate media and non-corporate media organizations."