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Bakotopia.com
Bakotopia: One example of a newspaper engaging community online and finding new ways to make money. |
The
Center for Citizen Media just released a fascinating report on how news organizations around the world are actively engaging their communities in the editorial process. Check out
Frontiers of Innovation in Community Engagement: News Organizations Forge New Relationships with Communities.If you're wondering why news organizations should bother with these efforts, don't miss the section on Investing In The Future: Shaping a Technology and Business Strategy for News Communities.
For related reading on the business benefits of bringing the community into the news process, check out this Feb. 26 Business Week column by Jon Fine: Gannett's New Lease On News.
Regarding Gannett's recent switch to a "pro-am" (professional-amateur) approach to journalism, Fine wrote: "What Gannett is doing isn't unique -- many papers are toying with similar initiatives. What's new is the company's unified approach. And Wall Street analysts like what they see, which is no small feat for a newspaper company today. Merrill Lynch's Lauren Rich Fine (no relation) praises the company's moves and thinks they could generate 'incremental' revenue and profit. If that's the case, Gannett will have cracked the toughest nut of all: how to keep making a buck from newspaper journalism."
