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)diversity in sourcing Trade publishing Noticing ‘gatekeepers’ Cultivating officialdom

Social media (like twitter & facebook) 29%  Social media 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 editor Wired 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)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 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