Anderson Cooper, beware. Seventeen-year old high school student James Brierton is about to give you a run for your money. And the folks paying your salary -- CNN -- are giving him all the tools he needs.

Today, CNN is planning to formally launch iReport.com -- a novel news portal featuring reports from everyday citizens who witness news first-hand. CNN's approach is laissez faire, providing only the platform for individuals to post, comment and rate news items from the public. It plans to exercise no editorial control, according to MediaWeek.

Mainstream media's efforts to blend "social media" with professionally reported news isn't particularly new. We've seen plenty of examples of blending news from citizen and established sources together in the past. What's unique about CNN's new iReport.com effort is that it's completely firewalled from the company's "core" news products.

(CNN's iReport Beta)

iReport blends a number of simple publishing tools and collaboration technologies into what appears to be a promising news product. Contributors who publish the most highly-regarded content (as rated by the community) most often receive the biggest accolade -- an "iReporter Superstar" designation. A quick look at early iReporter profiles unearths participants from Los Angeles to Des Moines to New York, mostly high school and college age.

James Brierton (known as "jbjimbo") is one such contributor. His brief bio on the site suggests he's a serial reporter, participating in his school newspaper, an online radio station, and more. James has shared more than a dozen stories with the world in his perspective via CNN's iReporter portal, ranging from political commentary, severe weather, local crime, to social issues.

While technology helps facilitate the growth of citizen journalists like James, it's not the primary reason they participate. Most contributors share because they have a point of view or a story to tell, and want to reach as broad of an audience as possible. Technology just makes it easier.

And technology isn't the reason why news seekers' appetites for first-person news grows, either. The reason citizen-penned content is becoming more attractive is authenticity. With the flurry of news choices at our fingertips, hungry news seekers increasingly want news without spin, direct from real people, in their own words. These unfiltered sources are now one of many key ways individuals consider different viewpoints and formulate their own opinions.

From a PR perspective, it's becoming more important for communications initiatives to help encourage or facilitate first-hand reporting. The more that practitioners can help create the environment for authentic buzz to grow through tools like iReport, the more they'll see authentic citizen reports about their companies and brands.