Open Park: Intro

Collaborative online news production: Introducing Open Park

Now that the spring semester is in full swing, I thought I would write a little Intro about my project for the Center for Future Civic Media [C4FCM] where I work as a Research Assistant, and the ideas and ideals behind it.

For those who are unfamiliar with the project - Phase I, defining the new professional journalistic practice of collaborating with colleagues and competitors on news stories, was conducted in the fall semester. Its results were the subject of my final paper for the C4FCM, as well as for the CMS class 'Media in Cultural Context, which is accessible in the Projects section of this site.
The Projects section also details Phase II, which focuses on refining the functions of an effective model for collective news-reporting by testing in the community what works and what doesn't with concrete real life-based collaborative news-writing experiments.

More generally, since the central themes of my project and of my Master's program in Comparative Media Studies are free speech in all media formats, new and old, including cyber rights, and that my research includes preserving them by identifying censorship, control, surveillance and similar threats, I plan to explore ways of creating a free and secure space for the collaborative production, exchange and distribution of information, especially of a sensitive, controversial nature, an open space where unpopular opinions will have a place. Investigative journalism is a perfect area in which to explore this.

My ultimate goal is to design a new space for the unhampered practice of free speech in collective news-reporting and -sharing. Given my journalism experience in both print, online and broadcast media, I envision a new collaborative newsgathering/reporting tool for journalists, citizen reporters, media professionals and their audience through which they can share their sources, interview notes and other journalistic resources in an environment free of state or corporate interference. One application is for journalists covering the same beat or issue for example. Another is for the media and citizens reporting on disaster/emergency situations such as Katryna.

As for what inspired me to call this new space for public debate 'Open Park': it is based on the concept of a city park - a public space which is pleasant and welcomes free speech - albeit one which is 'open', without fences or limits. Open Park is meant to be a decentralized, open-source and interactive model for use by media producers and consumers in a given community.

The first step in creating this new journalism model, which is the focus of my final C4FCM paper, is to study the market: what systems for open source news publishing currently exist, what are their pluses and minuses, and to identify the needs for more open, more secure and user-friendly collaborative tools and practices among news content producers. Journalists are possessive of their sources and contacts, and this new model for journalism is pushing boundaries by calling for new habits and practices. But sharing such resources and inside knowledge will lead to better researched, higher-quality investigative stories.

This new, unusual model for reporting/writing news also raises many questions and new challenges: how will the reporters/writers be credited, do we go for a combined byline if 12 people are working on a story or do we need a new system for bylines? How much monitoring/moderating is necessary? Eventually, do we need a new business model in which to implement these new journalism practices?

With a view to address some of these issues in Phase II of the project and assess the needs and demand for such a collaborative news model, I am currently preparing a survey - a list of questions that I will send out to selected communities of print, online and broadcast journalists and media producers in the Boston area. I will also conduct some of my research in these very online pages, here on the C4's internal- and later public Weblogs, and last but not least, through Open Park's Website, currently under construction, which will include an online forum in which you are all welcome to give free rein to your innovative ideas for the future of news/media collaborative production.

For now, I welcome your thoughts, ideas or even proposals for questions to be included in the survey, via the C4's weblogs, email and good old face-to-face, and later, via Open Park's Website.

The new presidency in the context of the current financial crisis and the post-nomination public policy decisions and developments here in Boston and Massachusetts should provide ample opportunities to discuss and cover these events in new ways, in the 'Open Park' way. May this debate at least partly start here, with you.