New Yorkers will be paid for video from crime scenes

Want to make $ 200 a day in New York? Race to the scene of a murder, Category XNUMX fire or traffic accident - then grab your phone and start filming, advises New York Post.

This is an offer from the Citizen app covering crimes and accidents in different parts of the city. It anonymously hires New Yorkers to broadcast live from crime scenes and other emergencies. Now the Citizen administration is trying to involve as many citizens as possible in this work.

$ 133 million from renowned sponsors

Citizen has raised $ 133 million from well-known sponsors such as Peter Thiel, as well as Silicon Valley venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Greycroft. They promise to provide real-time hazard alerts to users if an emergency occurs where they live or work.

The vast majority of these alerts, including videos, seem to come from volunteers who are in the right place at the right time. This business model, which has emerged amid declining coverage of local news by journalists, is saving the company money. And, apparently, it works effectively, because at the moment the application is used by more than 7 million people in 30 cities.

But the app is also quietly recruiting a “field team” on journalism job sites. They have to run around the city in an attempt to get rid of the emergency.

One user uploaded 1600 videos

A user named Chris, known by the pseudonym @cgutter_, rode his bike all day on July 22nd. He has filmed at least six different emergencies, including the bloody bus crash on Morris Avenue and the shooting on East 175th Street. According to his profile, Chris has already uploaded about 1600 videos to the app, which have garnered 1,52 million views.

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When asked why Chris often uploads videos to the app, a Citizen spokesperson admitted that he works for the company.

However, Chris is not listed on the app as a Citizen employee. He seems to be just another active New Yorker who wants to help the townspeople. At the same time, Citizen says it does not hide the fact that it uses the work of paid members of field teams.

But the company does not post jobs on its own website. Moreover, the Citizen name was not included in a job posting on JournalismJobs.com seeking "field team members" to work for an unnamed "technology company with user-generated content." The ad was posted on July 22nd and has now been removed. This ad was published by recruiting agency Flyover Entertainment.

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“You will be streaming events live from your phone right into the app, covering local news,” it said.

The announcement noted that members of the field team would be "dispatched to cover various events, including a dog trapped in a car or fires."

“If there are witnesses, police officers or other parties to interview, you should take the initiative to interview them for the users of the app,” the ad said.

Field team members in New York make $ 200 a day for an eight-hour shift. And workers in Los Angeles are offered $ 250 a day for a 10-hour shift. The announcement said Citizen plans to expand its field team to "the other top 10 markets" soon.

Flyover Entertainment owner Michael Yates did not confirm that the ad was about working for Citizen, saying, "If I did, I would violate a nondisclosure agreement and they would rightfully fire me."

After the first ad was removed from JournalismJobs.com, a Citizen spokesman confirmed to reporters that Yeats was hired on behalf of the company. He also provided a link to active and almost identical to the deleted ad from Citizen at JournalismJobs.com.