Here are links useful to practitioners of citizen journalism, including guides to the ethical and legal issues involved.

• Blogging Seminar — Bloggers as new journalists by Cynthia Owens
  • In this talk, Award-winning journalist Cynthia Owens offers some tips from the journalism world that bloggers can use to add credibility to their site.
• Blogging Seminar — Blogging for a Cause by November Tan
  • Popular enivironmentalist blogger November Tan, who blogs on the Midnight Monkey Moniter, shares about her experiences of being an activist in Singapore. In the talk, she offers her insights about what it takes to be a successful online activist.
• Blogging Seminar — Making an Impact — Choo Zheng Xi & Alex Au
  • The founder of two prominent blogs in Singapore — Yawning Bread and The Online Citizen — share about the trails, travails, joys, and successes of running a widely read citizen journalism outfit in Singapore.
• Blogging Seminar — Maxing out the technology by Sean Ang
  • How did Malaysian blogs help shift votes away from UMNO in the 2008 General Elections? In this rambunctious session, media activist Sean Ang offers an insider’s look at their ‘ninja’ strategies, and also safe tips to increase your blog traffic.
• Blogging Seminar — Survival training by Kevin Tan
  • ISA. Sedition Act. OSA. Copyright. Contempt of court. Unfamiliar with these terms? Blogging might run you afoul of the law, if you are not careful. But don’t worry, NUS law professor Kevin Tan is here to unveil these legal minefields.

• A Statement Of Shared Purpose
  • A widely cited list of professional principles, by the Committee of Concerned Journalists in the US.
• Citizens’ Bill of Journalism Rights
  • An effort to increase the media’s accountability to the public.
• Codes of Ethics
  • Compiled by the Project for Excellence in Journalism. Includes links to the ethics codes of the BBC, New York Times, US Society of Professional Journalists, Associated Press and other major organisations.
• Communication for Development
  • At the Heart of Change, on the role of communication in fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals and ending poverty. Published by the development communication NGO, Panos, commissioned by the UK Department for International Development.
• Eye on Ethics
  • By the Asia Media Forum. Focuses on ethical issues facing journalism in Asia.
• Online Ethics for Journalists
  • An evolving set of guidelines for professional journalists embracing the internet, including on user generated content. A project of the Poynter Institute in the US.
• Principles of Citizen Journalism
  • By the US-based Center for Citizen Media.
• UK Editors’ Code of Practice
  • Framed by the newspaper and periodical industry and ratified by the Press Complaints Commission.

• Defamation Act
  • Said to be “the most onerous” among all media laws, it is fundamentally meant to protect a person’s reputation in the eyes of reasonable people.
• Emergency (Essential Powers) Act
  • Regulations prohibiting Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel from communicating to newspapers, and pressmen from publishing what has been communicated by these personnel
• Internal Security Act
  • Most infamously known for allowing detention without trial. Originally designed to detain known or suspected Communists, it has become a tool against suspected terrorists today.
• Newspaper and Printing Presses Act
  • Laws mandating discretionary licensing and management shares in newspaper companies, among other restrictions.
• Official Secrets Act
  • Prohibits the disclosure of official documents and information.
• Sedition Act
  • Laws that prohibit sedition, though what exactly is defined by “seditious” is less obvious.
• Undesirable Publications Act
  • Restricts the importation, sale and circulation of publications that are felt to be in conflict with public interest.