Editor’s Note: Valley Indy reporter Jodie Mozdzer is at the 2010 Society of Professional Journalists Convention in Las Vegas. Mozdzer is the treasurer of the Connecticut SPJ Chapter.
Former news competitors have been joining forces in several large communities.
The efforts often include “citizen journalists” and major news organizations pairing up to share content.
I caught a glimpse of three such projects at the Society of Professional Journalists 2010 national convention at the Planet Hollywood hotel in Las Vegas.
At a session called “Networked Journalism” three panelists spoke about their respective efforts to build such networks.
- Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com
- Bob Payne, SeattleTimes.com
- Alicia Roberts, Charlotte Observer
Each of their efforts — funded through J‑Lab grants — is a little different.
But here’s a general outline:
You’ve got traditional media outlets pairing with hyper-local news sites, local bloggers and “citizen journalists” in the same coverage area to provide more news to both groups’ readers.
They share content, sometimes photos.
In some cases, the big dog news organizations simply link out to the blogs and hyper-local sites.
In other cases, like with the Charlotte Observer, the established news organization actually prints the stories.
Payne and Roberts said they’ve both used the networks to produce larger scale projects.
In Seattle, one such project targeted homelessness. With collaborators on the ground, in the neighborhoods, the Seattle Times was able to get lots of information from deep inside neighborhoods.
So What Do The Local Sites Get?
“Traffic,” Payne siad. “We can build traffic to their websites, build awareness in the community that these blogs exist.”
That traffic can translate into ad dollars.
They also get credibility, Payne said.
The bloggers can cite affiliation with a major news organization and receive press passes to cover sporting events, and can score interviews with key players on an issue, the speakers said.
Payne said Seattle is evaluating an ad-sharing model that might feed more money to the “community partners.”
