FreeNewMexican Online News
The 155-year-old Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA) newspaper New Mexican has launched a website designed to bridge the gap between readers and reporters by allowing readers to attach blog-style comments to all the news stories posted online. Instead of writing a letter to the editor or logging into a separate online forum, readers can share opinions, corrections and suggestions on the same page as the article itself through the online FreeNewMexican service.
Communication Strategies
This media initiative draws on information and communication technologies (ICTs) to make a printed medium - which some might consider passive or static - interactive and engaging by inspiring online community journalism.
A key feature of this free online service is that user comments actually determine the order and placement of stories on the newspaper's home page. "It's a direct way of letting the public decide what's important," according to online editor Stefan Dill. He pointed to the power of community involvement in journalism through a specific example: A January 31 2005 story about the sentencing of a child molester prompted readers to share their own stories of surviving abuse and air their concerns about the state's Children, Youth & Families Department (CYFD). Readers' comments prompted the paper to launch a follow-up investigation into the CYFD's efforts to protect children. This cycle of feedback "generates better reporters, better news and happier readers," Dill said. Users must register to post comments; their remarks appear under their full names. Newspaper personnel proofread and approve every user comment before it appears on the site.
Community participation in local journalism is a key feature and focus of this initiative. FreeNewMexican.com's Readers' News section includes articles written by community members and reader discussions about news and events. In addition to such features, the web-based platform includes a page that automatically tallies the site's most-read stories in order of popularity; online galleries of user-submitted photos; and a separate but related webblog written by staff members. The latter has "allowed us to have some flexibility to experiment with different ideas since we're not bound to the print content." A blog, that is, potentially allows reporters to communicate stories to the public more quickly - and to do so with more personality and humour.
Plans in the works for increasing the website's interactivity include providing RSS feeds to send new stories directly to readers, making the site readable on cell phones and other wireless devices, and featuring more user-written articles.
A key feature of this free online service is that user comments actually determine the order and placement of stories on the newspaper's home page. "It's a direct way of letting the public decide what's important," according to online editor Stefan Dill. He pointed to the power of community involvement in journalism through a specific example: A January 31 2005 story about the sentencing of a child molester prompted readers to share their own stories of surviving abuse and air their concerns about the state's Children, Youth & Families Department (CYFD). Readers' comments prompted the paper to launch a follow-up investigation into the CYFD's efforts to protect children. This cycle of feedback "generates better reporters, better news and happier readers," Dill said. Users must register to post comments; their remarks appear under their full names. Newspaper personnel proofread and approve every user comment before it appears on the site.
Community participation in local journalism is a key feature and focus of this initiative. FreeNewMexican.com's Readers' News section includes articles written by community members and reader discussions about news and events. In addition to such features, the web-based platform includes a page that automatically tallies the site's most-read stories in order of popularity; online galleries of user-submitted photos; and a separate but related webblog written by staff members. The latter has "allowed us to have some flexibility to experiment with different ideas since we're not bound to the print content." A blog, that is, potentially allows reporters to communicate stories to the public more quickly - and to do so with more personality and humour.
Plans in the works for increasing the website's interactivity include providing RSS feeds to send new stories directly to readers, making the site readable on cell phones and other wireless devices, and featuring more user-written articles.
Development Issues
Participatory Journalism.
Key Points
Since FreeNewMexican.com added comments to its articles in October 2004, newspaper subscriptions have increased by 1% - but "what's really exploded is the depth to which visitors explore the site." In December 2003, visitors viewed a total of 750,000 pages. By December 2004, monthly page views numbered more than 5 million.
One New Mexican editor notes that participatory journalism is more than reader submissions. "[It's] about giving people a voice, but you have to listen to that voice. You have to watch what your community does with the tools you offer and go with what they're most comfortable using and doing."
One New Mexican editor notes that participatory journalism is more than reader submissions. "[It's] about giving people a voice, but you have to listen to that voice. You have to watch what your community does with the tools you offer and go with what they're most comfortable using and doing."
Sources
"An Old West Newspaper Adds New Media Features", by Nathan Alderman, on the New Voices website; and New Mexican website.
- Log in to post comments