“Content is the means. Community is the ends.”
By Kate Myers
The Minnesota News Council was a co-sponsor of the “New Reporters/New Pamphleteers” conference held at the University of Minnesota June 4-5. News Council Executive Director Sarah Bauer and Summer Assistant Kate Myers participated in the conference, and observed a diverse group of placebloggers and citizen journalists — the 21st century’s “new journalists” — as they discussed the integration of “journalism, democracy, place and blogs.”
Headed by The Media Giraffe Project out of Amherst, Mass. and supported by the Journalism That Matters collaborative and the Minnesota Journalism Center, the event emphasized blogging and citizen journalism as a means of building community.
From building readership and reporting community news to building credibility and designing Web sites, many discussions were centered around filling the void left from untold local stories by mainstream media.
Many of the placebloggers felt they could help unify the community they are covering by providing hyperlocal and specialized information to their readers. With that idea in mind, several conference-goers brought issues to the table regarding ethics and standards as they relate to citizen journalists and blogs.
Bauer joined Melissa Cornick-Horyn, a former producer for 60 Minutes and 20/20, in a group that asked, “How can we get at and expose ‘the truth’ and still be ethical?”
“The truth is an important part of ethics, but there is no one truth,” said Cornick-Horyn. “In journalism, the truth comes from many different people speaking from their heart; in blogging, you don’t necessarily do that. You are speaking from yourself.”
Following the statement, an interesting debate ensued as to the biased nature of placeblogging and how citizen journalists often felt they don’t have the same First Amendment protection as other journalists in traditional media outlets.
Throughout the convention, Bauer and Myers observed and spoke with many individuals of influence within the placeblogging community. Joining a discussion group on democracy and accountability, they met an experienced source: Josh Wolf, a blogger and freelance journalist who served 226 days in jail for refusing to hand over material he collected during a demonstration turned violent in San Francisco, Calif.
“People behave differently when there is accountability,” Wolf said. “In certain situations, people need to take responsibility for what they are saying.”
For the Council staff, the conference was a learning experience and a window into the future of online citizen journalism and placeblogging. Additionally, the conference provided an opportunity for Bauer and Myers to better realize the News Council’s greater role in educating citizens to adapt to and filter new forms of “news.”
Conference attendees were inspired to return home and put their many ideas into motion. Many left the conference with hopes to build and implement new Web site features, ideas for new sources of funding and design tips from the pros to make their sites more user-friendly.
“Everyone in the room is central to figuring this out and making ‘this’ work,” said John Nichols of Capital Times as he addressed the group.
Read more about the Minneapolis gathering here.
View photos from the event here.
View video from the conference sessions here.
