Tide of citizen journalism on the Chinese earthquake

A good example of the effects of new media on the reporting of news has come out of China in the wake of the earthquake tragedy in Sichun province yesterday.

A regime that in the past has always tried to cover up any reporting of disatsers be them natural or manmade,was overwelmed by the sheer numbers of bloggers and twitterers yesterday.

The Telegraph compares the situation to that of 30 years ago

It was a contrast to the events in Tangshan 32 years ago, when the Chinese government refused for months to admit the 7.8 magnitude earthquake had even happened, despite the deaths of an estimated 240,000 people.
China's new found transparency has much to do with the arrival of the Olympics in Beijing next month. Although there are at least 29 journalists in Chinese prisons, 19 of whom are bloggers, the country has had to relax its reporting restrictions as a condition of holding the games.

Also take a look at Paul Bradshaw's analysis on the early information coming out of the province