Session 4: How to Tap the Fusion Power for Print and Broadcast

(Missed the first bits of this session, dealing with getting the
luggage — one bag of clothes, one accordion — that American Airlines
lost last night back into my grubby paws.)

Mary Lou Fulton

• Demonstration of how the Northwest Voice site is put together; demonstration of content-management system
• Trying
  to keep the site open to all contronutors: interesting quandary when
  local businesses want to contribute content. They set ground rules,
  saying that local businesses should write about their area of expertise
  without turning it into straight advertising
• Akin: We need more disclosure about where the money comes from
  with blogs. For instance, it’s well-known that the advertising branch
  of the Globe and Mail pays my bills.
• Problem with journalism is that it’s made people feel unimportant and ineffectual. The goal of the Northwest Voice is to change that
• Northwest Voice is built using iupload, made by a company located in Burlington (a satellite town of Accordion City)
• “There’s a sense of ownership” with the Northwest Voice — people see themselves in it.
• The stories may be personal, but accountable: you can write about your kid, but we let the readers know that it’s your kid
• “The problem with being a gatekeeper is that you’re keeping people out, not letting people in.”