Representative Journalism: Making It Work
Let’s say our Representative Journalism was a community of people interested in an economic opportunity and development reporter in a relatively economically depressed area. We estimate the total cost for that reporter including salary, benefits, editing support and newsroom overhead costs will be approximately $100,000 a year. To pay for it, the network weaver, either a commissioned community member or a circulation employee will seek out and build a community of 1000 people each willing to pay $100 a year to access a special online site devoted entirely to economic opportunity and development news for their local area.
Some of that news will also go into the general paper, but the Representative Journalism community will get premium coverage at this highly interactive Representative Journalism online site.
In addition, the community of 1000, we assume, will include people extremely interested in the topic and who collectively might well know more than the reporter. At any rate there will be deep conversation with the reporter, who will be providing everything from news to white papers to stoke the conversation.
August 28th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
These are ideas I’ve been bouncing around among friends for a while – good to see somebody putting them down on screen.
Have you thought about using readers as co-owners?
Thanks!
August 28th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Hi Noah:
Tell me more about your thoughts on readers as co-owners. Also check out Chris Peck's
Next Newsroom proposal. It is about community ownership.