Why Newspapers Are Betting on Audience Participation - New York Times "But with gloomy financial forecasts and declines in circulation, some papers are starting to see participatory journalism as their hope for reconnecting with their audiences.
If profit is their motive, they will fail to see that "participatory" means that control becomes decentralized. "Public discourse" is no longer dominated by "gatekeepers" like editors, commentators who work for the news organization or even reporters.
In some cases, like Backfence.com, in suburban Virginia, citizens are the only contributors, and the 'newspaper' is an unedited Web site. In Bluffton, S.C., Blufftontoday.com is made up largely of reader contributions, but some of the content is also published in a colorful tabloid newspaper and distributed free to residents. In Colorado, The Rocky Mountain News is creating 39 local Web sites under the umbrella of YourHub.com, with most of the material intended to come from readers."
These writers shouldn't ignore the Ohmynews model, JanJan, Livedoor and other online news operations that are not from the USA. Today's audiences are global, not just local. Consider the three million participants in Live8, who joined together via e-communications and broadcast channels, as well as by going somewhere in the physical world. Most of them felt they were part of Live8. Being there in this day and age doesn't always mean in your corporal form.
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