What a difference almost two years makes
It was back on Feb. 13, 2005, that Stew Rieckman, executive editor of the Oshkosh Northwestern, derided the Oshkosh Community News Network as the "Oshkosh Participatory Journalism Experimental Free Press of The Future."
On Sunday we learned that the Northwestern intends to supplant OCNN with NCNN: the Northwestern Community News Network.
I'm not sure how to react.
On the one hand, I think the Northwestern/Gannett has the resources to pull off what OCNN was not able to do. And I think there can be some good that comes of that.
On the other hand, I don't think this is the highest and best use of the resources of the biggest newspaper company in the country.
Participatory journalism as a grassroots movement by groups and individuals who are not satisfied with the status quo makes sense to me. Participatory journalism as a cash machine by companies with stockholders who are not satisfied with their profit levels is a different kind of a thing.
I think one of the goals of all alternative media, including blogs and independent Web sites, is to goad the mainstream media into doing more, into being more accurate and yet also more ambitious in reporting the news. I can't say I see that happening here.
In any case we are now in a new phase. We'll see if this one lasts for more than two years.
On Sunday we learned that the Northwestern intends to supplant OCNN with NCNN: the Northwestern Community News Network.
I'm not sure how to react.
On the one hand, I think the Northwestern/Gannett has the resources to pull off what OCNN was not able to do. And I think there can be some good that comes of that.
On the other hand, I don't think this is the highest and best use of the resources of the biggest newspaper company in the country.
Participatory journalism as a grassroots movement by groups and individuals who are not satisfied with the status quo makes sense to me. Participatory journalism as a cash machine by companies with stockholders who are not satisfied with their profit levels is a different kind of a thing.
I think one of the goals of all alternative media, including blogs and independent Web sites, is to goad the mainstream media into doing more, into being more accurate and yet also more ambitious in reporting the news. I can't say I see that happening here.
In any case we are now in a new phase. We'll see if this one lasts for more than two years.
posted by Miles Maguire at 1:50 PM
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