SXSW 2012 - Saving Our Newspapers Through Community

Saving Our Newspapers Through Community
Event	Interactive 2010
Format	Panel
Organizer	Nathan Wright – Lava Row, Inc.
Description	Many newspapers have online community features, but few of them have user interaction that is intelligent, responsible discourse. Can a newspaper set behavioral ground rules and still claim to be an open forum? What staff and time resources should be in place to effectively foster and moderate a thriving community? We’ll explore these questions and offer a step-by-step playbook for evolving the social newspaper.
Questions Answered	What steps can a newspaper take to effectively "clean up" their comments/community Can a newspaper enforce community rules and still claim free speech? How does frequent negative commenting hurt a newspaper's brand? Can thriving community actually be monetized for the newspaper? Can community extend between both the web and print versions of the newspaper? Are there examples of newspapers/media outlets doing community the right way? What would a successful community "look" like? Will taking away anonymity improve the tone/intelligence of discussion/discourse? How can newspapers improve existing community moderation features (like Craigslist)? Should every newspaper employ a community manager position(s)?
Level	Intermediate
Category	Community / Online Community, Interface Design, Journalism 2.0, Social Networking

Saving Our Newspapers Through Community