Kate Marymont and Mackenzie Warren – Fort Myers
Posted on 28. Sep, 2007 by David Cohn in Big Media, Citizen Network
Introduction and Narrative: When Gannett announced its transformation from traditional newsrooms to information centers (see Jennifer Carroll writeup) The News-Press in Fort Myers, FLA. was one of the first and most successful papers to adopt the changes. The paper regularly engages in experiments to engage and partner with citizens using traditional media resources in pro-am projects.
Its first brush in citizen journalism came in 2004 during Hurricane Charely. Today setting up a forum during a hurricane might seem second nature, but at the time it was an eye opening moment. As people shared information “we realized how much knowledge there was in our community,” says Mackenzie Warren.
Next, Fort Myers took an active approach to citizen journalism, enlisting the public in a investigation into sewer expansion, where hundreds of residents mobilized and scoured through documents. Throughout this investigation the paper relied on experts within its community like accountants, lawyers, engineers, “professions that we don’t have an expertise in,” says Warren. “We found in the community those people exist and they are willing to sift through blue prints and time cards, that’s what distinguished the project.”
The third and current experiment is called “Team Watch Dog.” Relying on retired experts in the community, Fort Myers has built a team of 20 volunteers, who work side by side with the newsroom on dozens of projects.
Main Goal of Fort Myers: To fulfill the same goals that the paper has had since 1884 when it started. “Our fundamental purpose in the community hasn’t changed at all, it’s a new means to the same end,” says Marymont. The hope is that by relying on the wealth of information within the community the paper is able to do deeper and better journalism.
Notable Achievements: Fort Myers has created a network of citizen experts, including a retired FBI agent, a defense intelligence agency analyst, an education worker and more. “We have formed an alliance that our community is coming to recognize,” says Marymont. “It’s the breadth of what we are doing that is notable.” This has also had a positive effect on the papers credibility in the community.
A Surprising Realization: The immediate volume of readers’ willingness to participate. The utilities investigation racked in 6,500 pieces of user-generated content over the lifetime of the project, with a huge flow in the first week.
The paper was inundated by the number of people that wanted to lend a helping hand to monitor their government. The same occurred with the Team Watchdog project, which was originally going to be called News-Press Nine, limited to nine volunteers. But hundreds applied.
Biggest Practical Lesson/Mistake: In their experiment of crowdsourcing in the Cape Coral utilities investigation, Fort Myers originally thought the experiment would take place in forums that they would monitor and eventually use to get quotes from contributors. “That is all fine on paper until you have 6,500 people,” says Warren.
The paper was swamped and was never able to catch up. “We left a lot of leads on the table,” says Warren. “If you strike oil, you better have a pump that can collect it all before it spills out.”
Money: Fort Myers runs on a traditional business model. On the web this means getting as many pageviews and unique visitors as possible. The site did experience an increase in traffic during the Cape Code investigation, including new regular readers. “We make new believers each time,” says Warren.
Future Goals: Fort Myers wants to rework the infrastructure that it uses to perform experiments in network journalism. Having a few under their belt, they are taking a look back to see what tools were clumsy or not right for the job. “In some cases we were using a sledgehammer to bang in a nail, in others a house hammer for a railroad steak,” says Warren. With the Team Watchdog project underway, Fort Myers is looking at new technical solutions, so they won’t be held back from not having the right tools.
What do you hope to get from people attending this conference?
“We are not short on ideas, we are short on the means to do them. What we want to get out of this is new inspiration and new directions we can push ourselves and persuade our audience to get involved and get motivated. New ways to promote what we are doing, so we can expand our audience and make new believers and readers,” says Warren. “My top hope is to actually come away with progress toward technical tools that are better for supporting networked journalism, we’re ready for the next big experiment in Fort Myers and we hope this conference can help us gain clarity on what that will be.”
13 Responses to “Kate Marymont and Mackenzie Warren – Fort Myers”
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October 2, 2007
[…] embrace, such as databases and “Community Conversations.” The News-Press in Fort Myers (see post on Mackenzie Warren and Kate Marymont). In addition to creating mobile professional journalists, Gannett’s papers are embracing […]
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March 4, 2008
[…] The Dallas Morning News did this with the just-released JFK documents. The Ft. Myers News Press did it with a FOIA on a botched hurricane-relief effort. The Sunlight Foundation has us exposing earmarks in spending […]
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November 23, 2008
[…] Investigative journalism will continue from the news organization and from collaborative efforts (see Ft. Meyers with its data-based investigations and Team Watchdog). The fear I hear constantly is that […]
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November 24, 2008
[…] Investigative journalism will continue from the news organization and from collaborative efforts (see Ft. Meyers with its data-based investigations and Team Watchdog). The fear I hear constantly is that […]
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November 27, 2008
[…] a iniciativas que requieren colaboración (véanse las investigaciones de bases de datos y el Team Watchdog de Fort Meyers). Escucho constantemente comentarios sobre el temor a que el periodismo de investigación pueda ser […]
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January 16, 2009
[…] The Dallas Morning News did this with the just-released JFK documents. The Ft. Myers News Press did it with a FOIA on a botched hurricane-relief effort. The Sunlight Foundation has us exposing earmarks in spending […]
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May 13, 2009
[…] Kate Marymont and Mackenzie Warren – Fort Myers […]
Mary Specht
29. Sep, 2007
Is there supposed to be a link where you say “(see Jennifer Carroll writeup)”?
I want to read it! Thanks.
David Cohn
01. Oct, 2007
Mary Specth: You caught me. That is a placeholder link – her writeup will be coming in a few days. But hey — I’m glad to know somebody is reading this thing 🙂
Katrina P
14. Oct, 2008
I am terribly jealous. Hope this is going to be an annual event. This is great stuff, thanks for having the blog and putting details like this on it. Those of us with no writing skills really appreciate it. Believe me.
Wayne Smyer
08. Dec, 2008
Why has the News-Press, Ft. Myers, failed to do an investugative report on the Gus Boulis Murder Case. Gonzalez blocked the “RICO”case that would have named over 60 “persons of interest” & “Co-conspirators” Please check it out: Keywords: Konstantino “Gus” Boulis, Jack Abramoff, Adam Kidan, Anthony “Big Tony” Moscatiello
p.s. Check story by Carl Hiaasen, “Adventures Of Jack Abramoff”,Miami Herald
Lynne
06. Aug, 2009
If I am reading you rght? This is all volunteer journalism.
How can this be complete and reliable reporting? Volunteers can not get to places real paid press reporters can, to get the whole story with accurate information.
This becomes he said she said story telling of personel
opinions.
What has happened to our newspapers?
I want the whole reliable true story in the newspaper deliveried to my door in my hand to read.
David Cohn
07. Aug, 2009
It is not ALL volunteer journalism. It is being organized by a newspaper, lets not forget that.
But you are right in that some of the reporting is coming from citizens.
But I think there is a misconception that if something is volunteer it then must be inadequate and if something comes from a professional reporter that somehow it must be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
There are many shades of gray in there.
I think this emphatically does NOT become “he said, she said” journalism. When dealing with a small community where everybody knows everybody newspapers and contributors are even more hyper-sensitive to he-said she-said journalism, since everybody knows everybody. It is a common phenomena that community newspapers and community reporters have even higher standards.
I suspect these volunteers experienced the same phenomena.