Anette Novak, an international media consultant, suggests the audience should be asked to grade the quality of journalistic content to help improve it. In her latest blog for the International Newsmedia Marketing Association, she says the creation of paywalls is only part of the challenge for news organizations --- they must also demonstrate what they're doing is of quality. "As an experiment in 2013, news organizations should let consumers show the way forward by asking them to grade the angle, accuracy, and strength of storytelling in our journalism," she writes. "What if the wisdom of the crowd helps us deliver the caviar content?"
Several news organizations permit readers to help correct online content through submitted forms or alert buttons. The New York Times says it is working on a more sophisticated system for its content. Its senior editor for standards, Greg Brock, tells Journalism.co.uk the existing approach is not strong enough and the Times is working on a "fairly simple" electronic corrections form.
David Carr, the media columnist for The New York Times, weighs in on the controversy involving the publication of gun ownership data in a New York town. He describes himself as an absolutist on the need for records to be public, but makes a distinction when it comes to publication of content. There has to be a strong public purpose, and he felt this publication didn't meet the test.
"We live at a time when data of all kinds can be unleashed with very little friction; part of the value of the news business comes from making sense of it all," he writes. "When we push the button on something, we expect people to pay attention. We should make sure we are pushing that button for the right reason."