5.5: Distributed, Collaborative or Open-source reporting

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Page ID: 305692

Mark Briggs
University of South Florida

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The concept of distributed reporting is a form of transparency for a news organization. Traditionally, readers only learn about stories a news organization is working on when the articles are finished and published. While it is customary to keep a story idea secret to prevent the competition from running with the idea, the distributed reporting model requires a news organization to go public with a story idea early in the reporting process.

The reason? To allow readers to assist in the reporting of the story.

In December 2006, The Cincinnati Enquirer tapped the power of distributed reporting to gauge compliance with a new smoking ban. Here’s how the paper’s investigative and enterprise reporter, Gregory Korte, described it in his blog:

“Whether you’re a smoker or non-smoker, you probably want to know which bars, restaurants and bowling alleys are complying with Ohio’s new ban on smoking — and which are ignoring it until the state posts new regulations.

And we’d like to tell you. But with 1,488 bars and restaurants in Hamilton County alone (that’s just counting the liquor licenses), it’s hard to get around to all of them.

It’s a good example of why The Enquirer, like all Gannett newspapers, is embarking on an experiment in what we call ‘crowdsourcing.’ We’re asking you to help us report the story by telling us what’s going on in all those places we can’t get to.”

During the 2006 Elections, The Cincinnati Enquirer invited readers to report voting problems they experienced at their polling places. Dozens of readers called or e-mailed to describe the irregularities and The Enquirer presented the problems on a Google Map on its Web site (http://www.cincin natidatadesk.com/pages /voter.html).

While the terms used to describe it are new, the practice itself has been around for many years. The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash., began using distributed reporting in 2001 with a database of e-mail addresses — something it called a “reader network” — to correspond with readers while reporting stories. This model has been copied by newspapers everywhere and used effectively in many situations, especially when looking for sources to interview on a specific topic or feedback or reaction to a current issue in the news.

Most reader networks were started with e-mail addresses from readers who had contacted the newspaper, either by sending a letter to the editor or asking a reporter about a news story. Through its Web site, a news organization can also build the database by advertising the network and inviting readers to join.

Minnesota Public Radio excels at this with its Public Insight Journalism initiative (http://minnesota.publicradio.org/your_voice/). By collecting as much information as possible, the news organization can slice the network several different ways and target specific subsets of the list for certain queries. People who live in a particular ZIP code, for example, or sports fans.

Ken Sands, who pioneered the practice in Spokane, highlights two ways the use of an e-mail network differs from traditional audience feedback such as letters to the editor or person-on-the-street interviews.

For more examples of how to use an e-mail database for distributed reporting, see Ken Sands’ article at: http://www.kcnn.org/modules/using_e_..._to_jumpstart_ your_newsgathering/

“One, the interaction occurs before publication, during the information-gathering process; and, two, by actively reaching out to people, you get a different, broader reaction than you do by waiting for people who are compelled by passion to contact you,” Sands wrote for the Knight Citizen News Network (www.kcnn.org).

Some newspapers now have more than one reader network. It can make sense to create and manage separate contact databases for education stories (if you need direct contact to teachers) or business stories (if you need to get feedback from local business leaders only).

The concept is going national (and/or global) too. In 2006, New York University professor Jay Rosen and others launched NewAssignment.net, a sort of clearinghouse for open-source reporting projects produced by teams of volunteers. Craig Newmark (of craigslist fame) contributed $10,000 to help launch the project.

“In this sense it’s not like donating to your local NPR station, because your local NPR station says, ‘Thank you very much, our professionals will take it from here.’ And they do that very well,” Rosen wrote on his blog PressThink. “NewAssignment says: Here’s the story so far. We’ve collected a lot of good information. Add your knowledge and make it better. Add money and make it happen. Work with us if you know things we don’t.”

At a time when news organizations are looking for ways to build brand loyalty, getting readers and viewers to participate in the news process can help.

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