7 th International Symposium on Online Journalism University of Texas, Austin April 7, 2006 Barbara Bry, Founding Editor Voice of San Diego

Why was Voice started? San Diego in 2004: a city in crisis Buzz Woolley, a retired venture capitalist- philanthropist, asks: Where is/was the media? Neil Morgan, renowned newspaper editor and columnist, leaves the San Diego Union-Tribune after more than 50 years

Early History Buzz and Neil bring me on board. I start full-time in October Buzz provides $350,000 in start-up funding. Web site design-backend development starts Initial paid staff hired and starts in January 2005 Initial Contributing Voices recruited Launch is February 2005

Mission Statement To consistently deliver ground-breaking journalism for the San Diego region. To increase civic participation by giving citizens the knowledge and in-depth analysis necessary to become advocates for good government and social progress. Independent and insightful Local news and commentary

Organization Structure Non-profit (501c3) with board of directors Paid journalists (five FTEs) including editor, 2 fulltime reporters, ½ time education writer, assistant editor-web, part-time office manager. Staff has grown since then to nine FTEs including marketing director and office manager. Currently led by two co-executive editors who also write. Volunteers: Contributing Voices and Guest Columnists representing diverse view points Content: combination of reporting and analysis Only on the Internet

Initial Challenges Determine initial focus: city government and K-12 education Recruit paid staff to something that doesn’t exist Recruit volunteer writers to something that doesn’t exist Establish credibility Attract readers

Early Decisions No blogs at the beginning: concern over control and credibility; they have been added but aren’t really interactive. All content is edited. 99% of letters to the editor are published; this section is similar to an interactive forum. Both points of view on a controversial topic Kintera content management system: pluses and minuses. Voice is changing to TownNews.

Surprises Amount of free content but!! It took lots of time to identify, recruit, edit and work with guest columnists Positive response from “influentials” Positive response from the general community I worked seven days a week as both the editor and CEO

Marketing Word of mouth Contributing voices and guest columnists and their contact lists TV and radio appearances Articles in local publications Articles in national publications Speaking to community groups Letting other web sites use our content with links back to Voice Voice will be doing radio advertising on local radio stations

Who are the readers? Half over 40; half under 40 2/3 in the city of San Diego Influential Goal is to reach a younger audience

Accomplishments 1 st to take City Attorney Mike Aguirre seriously on allegations of civil securities fraud 1 st to write about lack of leadership at San Diego City Hall before the resignation of Mayor Dick Murphy 1 st to analyze the pros and cons of Chapter 9 bankruptcy for the city of San Diego 1 st to publish an in-depth series on charter schools 1 st to publish an in-depth series on pension fund issues at the county of San Diego 1 st to write about San Diego as a “cheap” city in terms of taxes per capita “Best Overall News Site” award from the San Diego Press Club

Budget and Revenue Sources First year budget was about $500,000 Current annual budget is about $650,000 Revenue sources: similar to NPR-PBS model: –Individual memberships starting at $35 per year –Large individual donors: $1,000 and up –Corporate sponsorships –Foundations

Challenges Continue to increase readership. Decide where else to focus: initial focus on city government and K-12 education has expanded to housing, the border and environment, and a little more on arts and culture. Add more interactivity with readers. Maintain editorial quality; continue to stay relevant; cover what the rest of the media isn’t. Generate revenues to insure long-term survival.

Lessons Learned Importance of recruiting and managing volunteer writers Importance of a large number of community stakeholders Time consuming and labor intensive

My Next Chapter An iRadio-podcast program about entrepreneurship and taking control of your life Jon Stewart meets Jim Collins (author of “Good to Great”) Incorporating citizen journalism concepts: –The Baby Blog –Asking listeners to submit story ideas and podcasts –Inviting entrepreneurs to “pitch” their ideas on the show