By Jackie Rejfek — University of Nevada-Reno

As online news evolves, the public is witnessing a shift in the balance of power between providers and consumers, panelists at a discussion on participatory journalism said at the 2004 ONA Conference in Hollywood on Friday.

The panel, consisting of Ju-Don Marshall Roberts, managing editor for features at washingtonpost.com; Mary Lou Fulton, vice president for audience development at the Bakersfield Californian; and Bobbie Jo Buell, managing editor of the Arizona Daily Star; shared their views and experiences at the session titled "Blind Date: How to hook-up with your audience." The panel was moderated by Bruce Koon, executive director for Knight Ridder Digital.

At washingtonpost.com, Roberts said she uses live online discussions to communicate directly with the audience. The discussions are topic-driven collaborations between a guest and the audience. A moderator is present to filter unwanted content and to make sure guests adhere to predetermined rules.

These new technology features are growing in popularity because they allow the audience to ask questions directly and the opportunity for in-depth information, Roberts said. Each forum is about an hour long and extra questions are often used for further reporting on the subject. 

Roberts said the success of live discussions on the 2004 election and the Abu Ghraib prison scandal showed that audiences want an outlet to speak. In the future, washingtonpost.com will also be looking to experiment with blogging, Roberts said.

Fulton, who started the Bakersfield Californian's Northwest Voice, a neighborhood newspaper and Web site, talked about how the site has evolved into a community blog. Fulton said the Internet is supposed to be a collaborative tool, yet it has not done much to bring the public to the Web. The Voice changes that, she said.

As a resource to the Bakersfield Californian, the Web site has accepted more than 650 content contributions from readers since May. Many of the submissions are photos and short stories about everything from Little League to church gatherings, Fulton said. All items are published on the Web site, providing they fall within two guidelines: they are local and legal. Fulton said that, to date, editors for the Voice have turned away only a handful of items because they were not local enough. 

The success of the Voice probably can be attributed to good marketing and low development cost, Fulton said. Marketing was accomplished by partnering resources with local community organizations like the school and park districts. Fulton said the the newspaper version is needed, too, because it allows readers to have a tangible product to show their neighbors.

At the Arizona Daily Star, Buell has developed a Reader Advisory Network that allows the paper to e-mail readers who have previously contacted the paper. Originally, Buell thought the database would serve as a way to establish relationships with sources for stories and be a quick way for reporters and editors to broaden their reach in reporting.

But while the newspaper was receiving e-mails from readers with different sources of information, Buell said, they were also creating a new relationship with them. The readers were becoming more involved in the reporting process,  sending and receiving updates on stories they became invested in, she said.

More than 10,000 readers are currently on the list. And while it did not take much time to set up, Buell said maintenance of the list is difficult. People change their e-mail addresses frequently and the attention also has to be given to respecting privacy and legal issues, Buell said.

The next step for the Daily Star, Buell said, is sending readers customized updates on stories.