Better, deeper Sourcing

FROM THE GRASSROOTS, to the galaxy

TO THE group

Finding people

• Our Previous reporting (C-)• Asking people ‘on the ground’

(“who else?”)• Other publications

• Considering a fresh perspective will draw you to new voices (diversity in sourcing= better journalism)

• Trade publishing• Noticing ‘gatekeepers’• Cultivating officialdom

• Social media (like twitter & facebook) 29% 2009-2008

• COMMENTS ON NEWS STORIES• Places where people chat on line• Blogs!!

• Google scholar (studies)

• First hit:

Other experts• Brookings institute• Heritage foundation• lexis-nexis

Finding data, studies and statistics

Vetting sources & Stats• SourceWatch.org (liberal, but…)• politifact• Try googling; weigh the evidence• Understand the numbers• Know qs to ask about polls• Cultivate healthy skepticism

Some sites

Crowdsourcing• The White Paper Version:

Crowdsourcing is the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent (usually an employee) and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call.

• The Soundbyte Version: The application of Open Source principles to fields outside of software.

— Jeff Howe, contributing editorWired magazine

Examples of crowdsourcing• Asking readers to submit their photos

from a news scene (from a house fire, to a festival)

• Asking readers to share their knowledge of a situation and/or experience (Pro Publica)

• Bringing readers into newsrooms to work as experts on watchdog projects

How The Boston Globe Crowdsourced Its World Cup

Coverage• Created an online questionnaire for

boston-area readers going to the cup in south africa

• Set up a special email address for receiving submissions

• Made contact with the best• Explained what kind of material was

desired….

Team watchdog: ft myers “The News-Press Watchdog team is

supported by our civic journalism project, which calls upon an extensive resource in our community — retired professionals with a cache of expertise. A group of volunteer citizens living in Southwest Florida serve as consultants, research data, work side-by-side with the professional reporting saff and interact with readers.”

How they did it• Decided on retirees with no conflicts• Ran house ads & promos on web site

and in the paper• Reporters did background checks;

eds did interviews

Did some ‘bonding’• Held a reception for the 20 people

chosen & their partners• Held a workshop to train them in

gannett’s ethical standards• Got them together with reporters to

brainstorm topics

Sample of accomplishments• A few weeks later, ft myers published

its first Team Watchdog story – an A1 lead-centerpiece about the decreasing capabilities of the Florida National Guard. The idea was one that bubbled up in the initial workshop.

• A team watchdog member worked with our child welfare reporter on building a database of day-care inspection reports.

• Another requested, received and analyzed government documents which led to an exclusive story about how a street-lighting district had so much taxpayer cash on hand it could get by without charging any new taxes.

• A watchdog member with experience in school administration consulted on an education-beat story about teachers’ use of “time-out rooms” to discipline disabled students.

• A former FBI agent has helped a columnist Tell Mel track down sources and investigate consumer fraud.

Mobile location-based:allow ‘the crowd’ to contribute to a

story instantly