"Norg" + Citizen Journalism = Better News? Maybe...

I just read a fascinating essay by journalist Will Bunch in Attytood, a flagship weblog of the Philadelphia Daily News (a major daily tabloid print newspaper). In "The New Philadelphia Experiment: Saving the Daily News," he argues persuasively for the survival of his news organization by letting go of paper. For instance, he writes:

"We are, and can continue to be, the front-line warriors of information -- serving up the most valuable commodity in a media-driven era. But that means we must be the message, not the medium, and so we must adjust to give consumers news in the high-tech ways that they are asking for, not the old-tech way that we are comfortable with."

Well said...  Although I don't think the attraction for the evolving news audience is "high tech," but rather more convenient, customizeable, updatable, searchable, and (perhaps above all) conversational.

I think there's ample room for citizen journalism in Bunch's vision of the future of news...

Bunch begins  Ghis essay by painting a picture of a Philly news junkie of 2025 starts his day by exploring what his favorite "norg" (news organization) has to offer online. He describes a mix of general-interest news similar to what major daily papers offer today, along with personable and opinionated blogs, and a lively discussion forum.

However, there's one crucial point missing in Bunch's essay (and, so far, in the comments posted there by readers): Citizen journalism is mentioned nowhere.

It should be. It really should be.

...OK, well, now it is. :-) I just left the following comment to Bunch's essay:

Will:

Thanks so much for writing this essay. I think that "norgs" you envision are already starting to emerge from a variety of places, not just established print and broadcast news operations.

One point you didn't discuss, however -- and I'm hoping maybe you'll take it up in a future Attytood posting: What about involving the news audience more directly in creating the news? That is, encouraging people who right now you mainly consider "audience" to act as reporters, or otherwise step into roles currently reservers to "news professionals?"

Yep, I'm talking about citizen journalism. Because there is no way -- no way at all -- that any for-profit norg could afford the amount of staff they'd need to cover all the kinds of news that engages its target audience. Plus, when audiences feel engaged, appreciated, and actively involved, they tend to be more loyal. Right now, deteriorating reader loyalty is the slow cancer rotting away the "news business" as it's existed.

Of course, citizen journalism poses its own quandaries of quality, reliability, credibility, etc.

I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on how norgs might leverage citizen journalism to their advantage.

- Best,
  Amy Gahran
  http://ireporter.org