Bumberblog gives taste of journalism's future

My end-of-summer thoughts include Bumbershoot and the future of democracy, which probably seems like a stretch. Let me try to connect the dots.

The link between the Labor Day weekend music festival and our system of self-government has to do with citizenship and journalism. It is about who controls the media and for whom. Today the Opinion section of The Seattle Times launches "The Democracy Papers," a series of columns, essays and editorials exploring the media's role in society. Editorial Page Editor Jim Vesely explains the concept on page E1.

I don't typically write about the editorial page because it is its own voice, but "The Democracy Papers" project is groundbreaking. I urge you to follow the series, and I want to draw your attention to the lead article by Michael J. Copps of the Federal Communications Commission.

Writing about the U.S. Constitution, Commissioner Copps says, "It is enormously revealing that our nation's popular press literally predates our foundational political document, and played a key role in its formation."

Copps' commentary reinforces a central point in what I regard as the best modern book on media, "The Elements of Journalism." The authors, Tom Rosenstiel and Bill Kovach, assert, "The primary purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with the information they need to be free and self-governing."

They write, "This democratic mission is not just a modern idea. The concept of creating sovereignty has run through every major statement and argument about the press for centuries, not only from journalists but from the revolutionaries who fought for democratic principles, both in America and in virtually every developing democracy since."

They add that journalism is so fundamental to creating community and democracy that "societies that want to suppress freedom must first suppress the press."

Independent watchdog journalism has always been at risk to governments' desire to suppress and control information. These days the ability of the press to hold power accountable is even more at risk because of the consolidation of media ownership into publicly traded companies, where profits trump public service.

I'm confident that "The Democracy Papers" will encourage you to become more engaged with all of these issues. You have a personal stake in the health of the media and in holding it accountable.

Technology is on your side. It is transforming how you access and utilize information. If there is one realization that has struck me in my wanderings as editor at large, it is how profoundly people want to control their use of media.

Beyond wanting to have their voices heard, they want to participate in defining and creating the journalism of the future. They want trustworthy professional journalism, but they also want to tell their own stories in their own words and images.

Professional journalists and news organizations are starting to understand that their survival will require not just allowing this involvement but enabling it. Bumbershoot enters my end-of-summer musings at this point.

The Seattle Times has been judicious in using new technologies to give readers direct access to post or blog on its news Web site. The norm for news Web sites has been sort of a free-for-all, and many have had to turn off the open flow of reader commentary when it became a sewer pipe.

Bumbershoot was The Times' first experiment with allowing outsiders to blog on our site with little professional intervention. Cory Haik, seattletimes.com senior editor, called the approach "trusted bloggers" — people on the scene with a level of authority that was different from a reporter or music critic.

Doug Kim, senior producer, came up with the idea of approaching the Vera Project, an all-ages music venue at Seattle Center that educates young people in all aspects of the music business. He asked them to assemble a group of knowledgeable music lovers who could report on Bumbershoot from a fans perspective.

The team — Tristan Pelton, Kate Carosino, Julia Lipscomb, Keayleen McDaniels and Emily Gorman — provided commentary, photos, audio interviews and videos throughout the three days of Bumbershoot.

"We told them to be themselves. They were not going in as reporters from The Seattle Times," said Kim. "We really wanted their viewpoint and their stories to emerge."

Haik oversaw their Bumberblog, but with a soft hand. "I barely touched their postings, maybe 10 words. I kept their voice and didn't take out anything." She felt the bloggers' postings were "a very beautiful complement" to the work of the professional journalists on our site.

Haik felt that involving young people from the Vera Project "was a perfect marriage, the perfect model of citizen journalist and blogger. They are considered experts by their peers, they have credibility but at a different level than a professional journalist."

Kim, who was Times arts and entertainment editor for 10 years, spent the past academic year at a Stanford fellowship. Focusing on innovation, he has been thinking a lot about the future of journalism.

"I think a lot of it comes down to control — who has control over journalism and storytelling. I don't think we can survive if we don't let go. We have to change. We have to adapt. We are at the point where we have to experiment with different kinds of storytelling," he said.

The Vera Project Bumberblog was one way to do that. We wanted the young bloggers to be themselves, while embracing the values behind all of our content. We expected them to be accurate and respectful of our readership, without getting in the way of what Kim called "a visceral, authentic experience."

He added, "There is a hunger for stories that hold to the same type of values that are at the core of what we do. People want stories from sources that they trust."

Inside The Times appears in the Sunday Seattle Times. If you have a comment on news coverage, write to Michael R. Fancher, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111, call 206-464-3310 or send e-mail to mfancher@seattletimes.com. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists