WAN-IFRA Presentation

Building Community Around Journalism

Building Community Around JournalismJim BradyEditor-in-Chief, Journal Register CompanyOctober 13, 2011

Jim BradyEditor-in-Chief, Journal Register CompanyOctober 13, 2011

Community EngagementCommunity Engagement

How most news orgs view “engagement.”

Community EngagementCommunity Engagement

How news orgs should view engagement.

Why Engage?

Why Engage?

• Because news organizations always have…– Used experts as sources– Interviewed citizens for stories– Accepted tips from the community– Run photos & videos not taken by staffers– Run freelance pieces by citizens & experts

Why Engage?

Why Engage?

• In the new media ecosystem, you need readers a lot more than they need you– Collectively, the community knows a lot more

about each subject area than you do– Consumers have a lot of choices & not a lot

of time– They don’t need to come directly to you to

access your content– Without committed readers, you have no

business

Why Engage?

Why Engage?

• Because working with consumers produces better journalism– More sources of information– An ability to cover more beats– An ability to cover more physical real

estate– An ability to directly tap experts in the

areas you cover

Shallow Engagement

Shallow Engagement

COMMENTS ON ARTICLES• Almost always a one-

way conversation.• Rarely involves the

community in the creation of actual journalism.

• The tone of discussions actually keeps many readers from engaging.

Shallow Engagement

Shallow Engagement

USER PHOTO CONTESTS• Totally separate from

any kind of actual journalism.

• Usually just a cheap ploy for page views.

• Allows editors to claim engagement efforts without really doing it.

Shallow Engagement

Shallow Engagement

SHARING TOOLS• Allows community to

recirculate your journalism, but there’s no direct engagement.

• Doesn’t create any kind of loyalty or deeper relationship.

What Is Deep Engagement?

What Is Deep Engagement?

• Any direct interaction with a member of the community that deepens their relationship with your organization. That includes…– Spending real, physical time with the community– Training the community in ways it can help you– Using information gathered by the community in your

core journalism– Accepting breaking news contributions from the

community– Curating the work of community members– Using the community as a journalistic tool of scale– Understanding that the collective community is a

powerful journalistic force

First Rule of Engagement


Engaging meaningfully with your community

means giving up control.




means giving up control.

You HAVE to accept that.




means giving up control. You HAVE to accept that.If you don’t, don’t bother.

Register Citizen Newsroom Cafe

Register Citizen Newsroom Cafe

• Audience invited to sit in on newsroom meeting, watch a live stream or participate in a live chat

• Free public wi-fi access offered, as well as coffee and snacks

Community Media Labs

Community Media Labs

• Among our papers, we’re now working with 1,024 local blogs.

SeeClickFix

SeeClickFix

• In more than 25,000 cities and 8,000 neighborhoods• Has gathered more than 50,000 reports• SeeClickFix has relationships with local governments

TBD: Complete This Story

TBD: Complete This Story

• The audience can help you find out things you couldn’t• It’s a tacit admission media companies can’t – and don’t

– know everything

TBD’s Community Network

TBD’s Community Network

• More than 225 sites joined

• We sold advertising for about 75 blogs

• We linked to them aggressively, and put them in our geo-coded feeds to expose them to relevant audiences

• Provided training sessions for network members on blogging, SEO, social media, etc.

• We held public office hours to meet with readers.

Ushahidi: Japan Earthquake

Ushahidi: Japan Earthquake

Guardian: MP Expense Scandal

Guardian: MP Expense Scandal

Public Reporting Network

Public Reporting Network

• 5,000 Reporting Network members• They’ve helped conducted spot checks on federal stimulus

spending, unraveled loan modification stories, and tracked the oversight of a state nursing board, among other efforts

NPR Social InvestigationNPR Social Investigation

If You Do This Right…


• If you apply these strategies successfully:– The community will view you as a partner, not a

rival. That means:• They will send you tips, not your competitors• They will visit your site more often• They will link to you more from blogs & social

media• They will tell their friends about you• In short, they will root for your success• You will be more relevant to your audience

• More relevance =






• More relevance = more audience =






• More relevance = more audience = more revenue






• More relevance = more audience = more revenue = more journalists






• More relevance = more audience = more revenue = more journalists = better journalism

Thanks for EngagingThanks for Engaging

Technology

WAN-IFRA Presentation