FPC has Village Voice and created what they claim is “a one-stop-shop for local community information and a unique forum for citizen journalism”.
The key is engagement. In the US and Europe there has been more success at citizen engagement initiatives. Here in Australia we’re slower to engage. Their approach to getting the stories from readers online is old – I’ve seen sites in the US far more advanced. Likewise with free classifieds. It seems simple is free and complex (?) is not. Those issues aside, Village Voice is a welcome initiative in the changing media offering.
I’d like to see newsagents play a role in facilitating citizen engagement with news outlets – our network of stores could become soapbox points where people submit stories, photos etc for inclusion in sites like Village Voice.
When I lived in the inner city 10 or more years ago, the Village Voice started as a breath of fresh air in Balmain. Intensely local and the breakthrough was the size: A4. Easy to hold and read. It then expanded to other locations and has now been scooped up by FPC and presumably, Murdoch. The website is swamped in ads and is hard work, unlike the original…