My online news organization would run a site consisting of news by the people for the people. If I were a billionaire, I’d create a nonprofit site that catered to everyone from blue-, white- and pink-collar workers to millennials to new and old money.
I would hold high standards of journalistic integrity in my newsroom. I’d do everything in my power to eliminate corrupt, biased news.
While we would cover events for entertainment value, our first and foremost reason for being would be to show people the truth about what is going on in their own country as well as throughout the world. I would have paid staff members on assignment, covering events of every kind. The organization would include content to the tune of The New York Times, Time Magazine and National Geographic.
They would work around the clock to cover national and international stories. We would follow up with nations that were huge on mainstream media just months ago, but suddenly no longer exist to Americans – such as Egypt and Syria, Iraq and Iran. We would cover nations that go unnoticed to us – such as Canada, Brazil and Australia.
On the local front, we would keep our eyes on everything from politics, sports and entertainment to state-wide news and events. We would update hourly, more frequently for stories that require ongoing coverage.
However, we would be sure to update the moment we could verify our information is correct – not simply as soon as we have the information. Smooth and accurate wins the audience, while quick and false ends up on the wrong side of a law suit.
Watching “All the President’s Men” would be a requirement for all of my staff members, and they would be responsible for upholding a “Woodstein-esque” ethics code.
Using an online medium to publish news would mean that we could make more information available more quickly. I would draw viewers in by crafting very specific headlines. The words used in headlines can decide how easy a story is to find. When people search specific key words on search engines like Google, there is a formula that chooses what links are provided first.
By carefully choosing key words, my web site would be one of the first to appear on the first page of search engine hits. Most people choose their news by what seems to be the most relevant headline on that first page.
Once viewers click through to my site, I would draw them in with an attractive and user-friendly homepage. Easy access to all story topics such as local, national, world, politics, sports, etc., in-depth search tool options and archives that go back 20 years.
I would include portfolios for all of my staff members – this adds human interest and allows viewers to connect with an organization as well as decide whether the reporters are credible. I would also provide links to the professional web sites of my most frequent news sources, again for credibility reasons.
Of course, the standard user-friendly links to share media to other social networking sites would be available with every story as well.
In order to make the site more interactive and completely “of the people, by the people, for the people,” I would also like to include a feature similar to that of Wikipedia. I think the public should be allowed to add to news – details, photos, videos, etc. Unlike Wikipedia, however, this would be more closely monitored for the sake of truthfulness and lawfulness.
If someone had more to add to a story, there would be links through which he or she could provide personal information (required) and submit the additions. Professional staff members would then check for verification of the information and either approve or deny it. If it is approved, it would be added to the story with credit to the submitter.
People feel they can no longer trust reporters. I want to prove that they can, and should, put their faith in us.
Kate Hibbard 