The AP is Crowdsourcing Sotomayor

There is a new term on the media landscape. The AP announced that it will be "crowdsourcing" its coverage of Sonia Sotomayor’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearings. Apparently this term has been around since at least 2006. But all I know is that it sounds a lot like "crowdsurfing," which, let me tell you, is not something the news industry — or anyone else — wants to get involved in.

So what is it? The AP will use social media to broadcast news and analysis during the hearings, a method of coverage that is old hat by now. What's new is that it will be a two-way street — the audience will be able to steer reportage by informing the newsmakers what they'd like to hear about. Those keyed in to the AP's Yahoo! blog and its Twitter feed (@AP_Courtside) will be able to help shape the news as it's being made.

Is this a new era of democratic newsmaking or the dumbing-down of the media? Let the debates begin. Whatever your take, I would just like to note that it's kind of funny that "courtside," the AP's Twitter name, is a euphemism for spending time in jail. (Not that I'm implying anything. Crowdsourcing sounds perfectly legal.)

(Photo courtesy EMILY's List's photostream via Flickr share)