About CoJourn

As a working, freelance journalist, at the beginning of my career, I would like to take the practice of journalism a step beyond what we know as the final written article, as it appears, in the daily paper.

And to that end, this blog is an experiment in cooperative, community journalism. Here, the stories will not be written in isolation from the readers, but with their input, points of view, and their own questions about the story as it is in progress. The process will be transparent. And with the help of the community, I hope to produce articles, and provide information that is truly meaningful and relevant to you.

I am asking for your involvement.

Have you, like me, read a news story and had questions of your own that weren’t answered in the piece? Or have you thought that the story was lacking something that would give it a better perspective? These are a few of the reasons that I became a journalist. Too often, stories seem incomplete or slanted due to a lack of information and context. This blog is an attempt at a solution.

I believe that together we can forge a more meaningful form of journalism. As a story develops, I would like for you to add your comments, questions, story ideas, and perspectives. If you have photos, video, or other materials that are relevant to the story, they can be posted here as well.

There are two ways you can respond to a story as it develops.

The first way is to add a comment to the blog. This ensures that everyone can have a say and that there will be no censorship of opinion.

The second way is to e-mail me directly at cojournsands@live.com. In keeping with journalistic standards, if you have an opinion, or information that could be a part of the final article, you should be willing to stand by it with your name. In e-mail correspondence, I ask that you provide your name, phone number, and address so that I can verify the source. I may also want to call you with follow-up questions. Your phone number and address will not be published, and they will not appear in the blog. They will only be used to verify that you are who you say you are.

Photos and video should also be sent via e-mail. The best way to send in video right now is to post it on youtube.com and send me the link. Photos and documents can be attached to your e-mail.

From the material that is sent to me this way, I will choose what gets posted in order to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the piece. This will also keep the post concise, organized and easy for the reader to access.

In rare cases, special consideration will be given to anonymous sources. If you wish that your name not appear in the story, please state this in your e-mail. I will still need a phone number and address to verify the source. Also, anonymous comments might not be published. But they could give me information to advance my research into a topic.

You can also contact me to provide off-the-record and background information. This is, by definition, information that isn’t published straight from the source as it is received, but utilized to find the same information from other sources, such as interviews with other people, or public records.

What this blog should ultimately provide is:

1.      Transparency in journalism.

2.      The opportunity for you to comment on a story as it is in progress, rather than after it is finished.

3.      The chance to affect the course of a story.

4.      The opportunity to ask questions that matter to you. I will do my best to find the answers.

5.      An enormous pool of resources. From those who interact with this blog, the chances of finding people who have experience with the topic of a current story are greatly improved.

6.      More information than what would normally fit into the final, crafted story that appears in print. Often, there are interesting details that hit the cutting-room floor. One aim of this blog is to give them a place to live.

7.      And finally, a strong relationship with the community. A journalist should be trusted by readers, sources, and those being reported on. The open dialogue we create here will develop and reinforce that trust.

I will work daily to update this blog with information on the current story. I look forward to your interaction and input.

For any story I am working on, the final article will either appear in a local paper, here, or on a news blog like seattleblog.com. I will provide the link.

Since my work is freelance, I don’t know where future pieces might show up. Hopefully, the articles will make it to print. But, since I don’t want to limit the scope of the articles to what any particular editor is looking for, it could be that some of them will only be posted digitally on this blog.

I look forward to your responses, input and story ideas.

Sincerely,

Scott Sands