For the past couple of months I’ve been putting together a Model for the 21st century newsroom in five parts. Part three seeks to go one step beyond the “news as conversation” model to look at what should happen after a news story has been reported, using a familiar framework: the 5 Ws and a H.
Here’s the thing. Conversations are good. They help us work through our thoughts. They help us rethink ideas, assemble compelling arguments, make connections, spot holes, negotiate, and compromise.
But they’re only the start.
Have you ever been to one of those meetings where there is a lot of talking — but no action? That’s what most news sites and blogs are like at the moment: one endless meeting.
There are some hugely important issues right now. Traditionally news organizations have sought to explain what’s going on, to clarify, to investigate. But given the infinite space, the permanence — and, above all, the connectivity and functionality of new media — shouldn’t we do more? Shouldn’t we be connecting?
Here’s what my model for a 21st century newsroom does with a story once it’s published. It seeks to make connections along these lines:
- Who can I connect with?
- What did the journalist read to write this?
- Where did this happen?
- When are events coming up that I need to be aware of?
- Why should I care?
- How can I make a difference?
We already have the tools to answer these questions: social networking, social bookmarking, calendars, widgets, mapping, geotagging, databases, personalization and automation (to name just a few). I’ve explored more fully how to do this in this Online Journalism Blog post. There, I make some more concrete suggestions under each heading.
I’m currently at the second stage of the Knight News Challenge with a proposal for funding to try them out. Any help that readers can provide in terms of examples, tools, refinements or even offers of help would be very welcome indeed.
