New Media: A MSM Tool to "Close the Gap"...

Stefan Dill, Web Editor at the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper, has been extremely interested in the axis of where three ideas are converging: 1) technology, 2)news and information and 3) the social behavior and how people are using the information.

The Santa Fe New Mexican claims to be the oldest newspaper in the West but it is hardly stuck in  traditional ways.  It has had an online presence since the mid-90s.  But in the last few years it has used new tools to expand the conversation with its audience and to heighten the engagement and participatory nature of the audience.  It has been doing some very innovative things in the last few years that are worth noting.  I spent one-on-one face time in real time with Dill to understand what is is happening last week and the dialogue about what they are doing will roll out over the next week in this space.

Dill has been interested in making the new online media a space that is an integrated part of the conversational loop. The stories that appear on the online version of the paper have commentary sections attatched to them.  It has had this for three years and has been out front in allowing the conversations to take place.  This has been a distinct feature of the paper and an innovative tool compared to most MSM print media.  Their two online versions of the newspaper, one free and one an adjunct to the paid subscription, serve as an extention of the news stories.  Often the commentary is as informative as the original print story. 

All of the comments are moderated and he stays on top of the approximate 200 - 300 comments he receives per day.  Dill believes strongly in the potential of the conversation of the media and he works hard to be attentive, to be present and responsive and to integrate the public into the conversation of the news so that it is an active two-way loop.

Dill, a native of New Mexico, has had experience in New England and a working experience in radio and music and has worked in markets outside of Santa Fe.  He has been able to apply out there,out-of-the-box ideas without the constraint of the weight of the print journalism traditions.   He is backed in this by the Santa Fe New Mexican Web Publisher, Michael Odza, who has a background in book publishing, MTV and major market experience including New York City.  Both Dill and Odza understand the future of new media and where it is headed  and the tools that are available.  They have been "early adopters" in applying these to their enterprise.

The Santa Fe New Mexican was on the blog boat very early - extremely early for MSM.  Odza started to blog in mid-2003 and in an effort to be transparent, he wrote, "The job of the journalist might be described as finding the centerpoint. The job of the committed radical (in either political direction) is to convince people that the centerpoint is over here--or there. Unfortunately there's not always a ruler handy to indicate where the centerpoint of the line is, so we all argue about it. But sometimes there is, and I aim to try to point out when I see a ruler." 

Looking for that centerpoint and allowing for transparent dialogue about where that might be is a way of connecting and being responsive to the needs of their audience - Santa Fe and northern New Mexico, primarily.  This paper has been doing a very innovative job in serving their consituency by listening, responding and allowing for engagement.  They have been providing tools as well as news and information and in so doing they have made the Santa Fe New Mexican web presence a new form of public-enabling gatekeeer that has allowed citizen empowerment.

Perhaps it is that this newspaper is out West where you are what you make of yourself, unconstrained by convention. Perhaps it is because the web leaders, Odza and Dill, have a broad background to bring to this new direction that isn't just in print media. Perhaps it is because they have stayed tuned in to the latest innovations and how they can be applied to their business.  Perhaps it is the place itself -- New Mexico is liberal, has very distinct audiences and cultures and it has a history of working together for solutions to problems.

How Dill is working to be sure information is no longer top-down is featured here in Part II: Talk Back Newspapers and how the Santa Fe New Mexican online site is getting it right.  Experts on the subject of Talk With News.