We are The UpTake, a new media and technology organization dedicated to citizen journalism and its role in democracy.

The UpTake’s founders’ inspirations are various. But at a certain point, in the midst of multiple, accidentally caught-on-video incidents of bad behavior by public officials, we all found ourselves wondering: how much of what we shouldknow is not being covered by the mainstream media, and how powerful would it be to not only make sure it’s covered, but also methodically distributed?

Pretty powerful, we thought. So here we are. But as you know, there’s a lot going on out there. We need people on the ground to cover it all. In other words, we need your help!

Want to be a part of The UpTake? We need:

• Enthusiasm, passion and curiosity about our subject matter: politics, politicians and the media

• Good judgment (and not just of the editorial variety)

• Storytelling ability (a journalism background is helpful, but not required)

• Basic technical knowledge on how to shoot and edit video

• Video and video editing equipment or access to it

• A social network that keeps you tapped into current events and sources for insight and information

• Professionalism

• 3-6 hours per week to dedicate to citizen journalism, with increasing commitment as the ‘08 elections approach

Proficiency with another language a big plus.

Interested? Contact our executive producer, Mike McIntee, at mike.mcintee@theuptake.org.

Dying to do it but don’t feel qualified? Sign up for one of our trainings. In partnership with Wellstone Action, The UpTake will be offering “Introduction to Citizen Journalism” on a number of upcoming dates.

Info about our classes on our TRAINING page