by Denise

Photo by George Wietor
@mixedfeelings on Twitter: “Big group here @ Grand Central Market for the #Rapidian ice cream social. Not a lot of ice cream, though.”

Today, we had our first open gathering of the summer at the Grand Central Market. We called it an ice cream social, taking it at face value that if you’re sitting in GCM where munchies abound, you’ll naturally want to indulge in ice cream, gelato, sorbet or a good sammich.

Attendance was at a solid 15, and as the discussion continued, it became more intimate. We had framed the social as a discussion with guest facilitator Ian Storey, a Ph. D. candidate at Colorado State University who looks at citizen journalism and political economy.

The goal was to show our reporters the other side of the citizen journalism coin: The observers and academics. However, due to faulty directions on my part, Ian didn’t make it.

We switched gears. Topics ranged from The Rapidian under review by the Knight Foundation to perceptions of the term “citizen journalist” to The Rapidian’s currency when reporters try to land interviews.

Several things that came out of this:

• In professional journalism, there’s been some struggle coming to terms with “citizen journalists.” At our social, nobody seemed to have an issue calling themselves citizen journalists. One photographer felt it was moot, paralleling it to the advent of digital photography; anybody with a digital camera can say they’re a photographer, but does that make him less of a professional photographer? He doesn’t think so.
  
  
  • We asked how reporters present reporting for The Rapidian to sources. The Rapidian is still growing and not everyone has heard of it (yet), so the sure-fire way of presenting it—no questions asked—is as a local publication.


• Unlike freelancing for other news outlets, if you decide to pursue a story for The Rapidian and it meets the hyperlocal news parameters, there’s a 100% chance that it will be published. You also set your own agenda—coverage to publishing—which is not always the case with freelancers. Rapidian contributors’ voices are less filtered, and this can be empowering.


• Reporters do feel an obligation to see pieces through in a timely manner when they interview their sources and use The Rapidian name. However, stories don’t always pan out, or real life tears into the picture and ideas need to be shelved. Our reporters felt guilty but were unsure about how to wrap things up. In those situations, proper protocol would be to inform sources.


• How do reporters deal with prior review? Contributors want to make a positive impact with their reporting, but they don’t want to be a mouthpiece for the businesses and individuals they interview. With as loose of a structure as The Rapidian, reporters can respond to requests for prior review by offering to share quotes, but not the entire story.


• To get us thinking about sustainability, Rapidian Mom Laurie Cirivello has charged us with raising $10K this fiscal year. One idea staff had tossed around was putting a donate badge on all submissions, but we shied away on the assumption that it would be intrusive for the reporter. We were overwhelmingly assured that it was a fair trade-off.

What we learned from today is we need to create a resource page for reporter FAQs, from advice when stories are shelved to how to deal with prior review. This wouldn’t just be for the reporters. It would also give inquiring interview subjects an idea of reporter obligations (we say this loosely because ultimately, every contributor is a free agent, and The Rapidian is the platform).

Upon mentioning the $10K, our attendees immediately clobbered the issue. Gem of the day: We’re blessed with talented and willing volunteers.