"'Citizen journalism' is one of those buzzwords that's hot in our industry right now," writes Steve Outing. "While some journalists might hope it's a fad that will go away soon, I don't think that's likely. Inviting the public to participate in online news publishing by contributing articles and photographs is likely here to stay -- indeed, it might allow journalism institutions to renew some of the public trust they've lost in recent years by inviting the public in instead of keeping them outside the ropes."

A veteran of the U.S. war in Iraq has created Operation Truth, a weblog for soldiers to share their stories from the front lines with people back home, including government officials. "I felt like the American public was really detached from the soldier's experience," says Paul Rieckhoff.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that an "animal tested 'inconclusive' for mad cow disease in two rapid screening tests"; the results of further testing will be released next week.