Open File Launches: Crowdsourced Local News Site

Nieman Lab today announced the launch of OpenFile, a crowdsourced local news site covering Toronto.

As Nieman reports, OpenFile “combines the core maxims of new media: community engagement, emphasis on locality, bottom-up approaches to news.” In particular, the service is right on about using the community to produce content and to shift the role of journalist from reporter to curator. Among the services core principles are:

2. Always collaborate: The line between journalist and reader should be fluid. Apart from gatekeeping and quality control, we must be responsive to our readers. Our technology choices should be democratic, collaborative and pragmatic.
6. Curate the conversation: Shift the role of the journalist from fact-gatherer to news producer. We will shape and direct stories in concert with our readers.

The site states that its content production process begins and ends with its community and they’ve set forth a very compelling new model of its staff will collaborate with the community to produce content:

1. You come up with a great idea for a local news story.
2. You submit that great idea to OpenFile by opening a file.
3. An OpenFile editor reviews your idea, and either assigns it to a reporter or posts it to the OpenFile site to gauge community response. Members can then add to your idea and help it grow.
4. If the story is deemed a good fit, the OpenFile editor assigns it to an OpenFile reporter.
5. The reporter posts the story and publishes it to the OpenFile site.
6. The published story is viewed by the OpenFile readership community, who can supplement it with additional images, video, comments and more.
7. Local news prospers. Everybody wins. Huzzah!

OpenFile has the right formula in place. Looking forward to keeping an eye on their progress.