The way people get their news and the type of news they want are changing. It is absolutely critical that we as journalists find a way to meet these needs before we start leaving a bad taste in people's mouths.
The American Journalism Review backs this up, and cites several examples of innovative Web sites we can look to as models, including the Lawrence Journal-World (see, Kansas is cool!), Baristanet, the Naples Daily News, the Washington Post's local sections and Bluffton Today. What do these sites have? Comment threads, discussion forums, blogs, multimedia elements, user-submitted photos, community calendars, high school sports and more. The content is targeted, hyperlocal and very interactive.
I'm not saying hard news isn't important, but it's only one ingredient in the delicious journalism stew we're capable of concocting. Spicing up the news with more student generated content and (dare I say it?) user provided content would make the whole tv.ku.edu experience much more savory.
It's time to cook up something fresh and exciting for the Web site. Ohhhhh yeah, baby.Photo: Laurel Kupka. Original image courtesy of opinionated-cooks.com
So let's kick it up a notch. Replace the Beyond Lawrence section with content provided by the kids in 201. People really do care about those damn potholes all over the city, and when they're going to be fixed. They'd like to read about the crazy people who take over Mass. Street after dark, and share their own stories. I bet they'd be interested in blogs and other materials related to current issues in the community, which we could incorporate into the Web site. Students in 301, 415 and the op/ed class could probably help us there. I know I've been critical of citizen journalists in the past (I believe I called them "nutjobs with cameras"), but these folks could really add something to our site too, as long as we run them through the colander first. How about photos, video or even just some ideas? We have to know what our audience wants in order to please that delicate palate.
We have to be the Emerils and carefully select the right ingredients, put it all together, try to expand our horizons and, most importantly, have some fun in the kitchen.
My apologies for all the food analogies. I'm slightly obsessed with the Food Network. And I'm very hungry right now.
I think you're definitely on the right track. Let's use the assets we already have, such as the 201, 301 & 415 students to provide some of that hyper local content you are talking about. I'm not so sure about getting rid of the 'Beyond Lawrence' section, however; I can definitely see us adding a section for more local events. User submitted content should also help our site grow and make the reader feel like they are part of the news process. We could have the web producers sort through that content and build a story out of anything of interest.
I'm on board and think the tactics you are talking about could well be a part of the overall web project you are should be working on...
I think hyper-local is your best tactic. if I want news about the bigger world, I am not looking at any local news site. I'm on the BBC webpage. But the only places I look for news about Kansas are local. Check out the coverage on Lawrence.com and see if you can leverage some of that event-specific material that will make people hungry for more.