J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism has since 2005 funded 55 community news organizations through its “New Voices” program.
On Sept. 30, J-Lab released a report, New Voices: What Works, which documents what the organization has learned from 48 of those projects. Among key findings was that startup news organizations are not replacing traditional news media. Instead, these new organization are complementing traditional media and adding to the breadth and depth of community news coverage.
“One of the most important contributions of all of the New Voices community news sites is not that they replaced news coverage that has been constricted — rather they added coverage that did not exist before, not even in the heyday of American journalism,” said Jan Schaffer, J-Lab director, in releasing the report.
Among the report’s 10 key findings:
- Engagement, not just content, is key: Robust and frequent content begets more content but it’s the engagement with users that make sites successful.
- Citizen journalism is a high-churn, high-touch enterprise: Citizen journalism math is working out this way: Fewer than one in 10 of those you train will stick around to be regular contributors. It’s better to nurture frequent site visitors to generate content.
- Social media is ushering in a new era for community news startups. Sites that build on friend networks are launching with lightning speed.
- Sweat equity counts for a lot: Projects built on the grit and passion of the founders have created the most promising models for sustainability.
- Community news sites are not a business yet. Income from grants, ads, events and other things falls short, in most cases, of paying staff salaries and operating expenses