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In which I don't bother to asssign a subtitle.

How to take advantage of micromedia, niche sites, and community blogging for better reporting:

• http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/06/what-happens-after-newspapers-reporting-apparently-still-gets-done/

Here’s a great article on how the best way to get eyeballs on your news site and keep them there is by building a community around your content. It notes NPR‘s presence on social media and their focus on providing tools to allow users to create their own content.

"It’s not about how sexy-looking your site is. It’s not about having the absolute latest display technology. It’s about how you engage readers with conversations and with ways of interacting with news staffers and with each other. It’s about projecting personality — showing that behind the stories, the columns, the blogs, there are real people living in your town, sharing your concerns and your joys."

• http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/06/what-counts-more-than-desig/

This story showcases on how laid off reporters from Rocky Mountain News used a blog and interaction and conversations with their audience to build a brand and a site.

"If they ask a question,” Etkin added, “they get an answer."

• http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/07/inside-the-rockies-how-ex-rmn-reporters-are-using-comments-to-build-community-around-baseball/

Here’s a great article on how newspapers are seeking out local bloggers and finding huge value in aggregating them, as well as opportunities for potential profit. Notably, some of the ideas they are talking about are similar to the execution we did of collecting and displaying local political blogs though MasonVotes.

• http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/07/newspapers-try-again-with-local-blog-networks182.html

This article describes how one newspaper found that blog-type video content brought in far more viewers (and advertisers) than news channel like reports. 

"What we wanted to do was just go back to doing a video show the way reporters talk to each other. It’s more conversational. It’s snarkier. It’s a lot more fun. What you need for video to work on the web is more of a voice. For the web in general, you need a voice."

• http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/07/ledger-live-how-a-newspaper-webcast-became-less-like-a-news-show-and-more-like-a-blog/