( August 6, 2007 ) - Two pioneers in citizen journalism are partnering to offer people around the world the easiest way to report the news they witness and gain income from their work. GroundReport, a leading destination for citizen journalists, and Citizen Image, the web-based citizen photojournalist agency, have partnered to provide GroundReport members a seamless way to earn more money by syndicating their photographic content through Citizen Image’s platform.

The new service is simple to use and is done entirely on the GroundReport website. In addition to making money directly from advertising displayed next to their stories published on GroundReport.com, members can now earn additional income from syndicating and licensing newsworthy photographs through Citizen Image. GroundReport users simply opt-in their photograph submissions at GroundReport.com by following a few easy steps. Once users’ content is sold, Citizen Image pays them a licensing fee (minus a commission for the service).

“Citizen Image and GroundReport are the vanguard of the next generation of user-generated content services,” said Joe Bransom, president of Citizen Image. “We’ve seen in the press a lot of discussion lately about how user-generated content sites make money off material they get for free from their contributors. We built the Citizen Image platform on the premise that citizen journalism is valuable content and contributors should be compensated if their work generates money. Partnering with GroundReport is a natural way to increase our catalog of images from active participants in the citizen journalism arena covering stories that matter to our clients.”

Citizen journalism and photojournalism has been one of the most widely heralded innovations to come from “Web 2.0.” Because news often happens when it’s least expected, professional news organizations are unable to have reporters immediately on the scene at every newsworthy event. Citizen Image has harnessed the millions of people carrying digital cameras – even camera phones – with them everywhere they go, blanketing the world and capturing important and compelling images. GroundReport is a citizen journalism destination that enables anyone to publish multimedia news reports, rate content, and earn a share of advertising revenues.

“This partnership represents an evolution of the media marketplace,” added Rachel Sterne, CEO of GroundReport. “Nowhere else on the Web can citizen journalists earn both a share of ad revenues and opt-in to sell their photo content to major outlets. Through our partnership we bring together the best of old media and new.”

The joint service goes live in three weeks at www.groundreport.com and www.citizenimage.com, respectively, and will benefit from the existing archives of thousands of stories and thousands of images already available at Citizen Image and GroundReport.