As part of our recently released report on user-generated content opportunities for newspapers, NAA asked four digital media leaders to write down their thoughts on the topic. The following is an excerpt from one of those essays. The full report, including the opinion pieces, is available at www.naa.org/ugcopportunities.
The following comes from Kyle Leonard, managing editor of TribLocal.com:
The possibilities for user-generated copy are as wide open as the editors and newspaper executives contemplating its use allow. While it must be acknowledged that there are stories, photos and reporting that only a professional can perform, it should also be recognized there are countless stories and photos out there a seasoned professional would ignore or choose not to report, but the consumer of a newspaper would find interesting and relevant to their daily lives.
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The obvious, near-term use for user-generated copy for mainstream media will be to produce copy easily and at low cost that is relevant to their readers. It is important to note that user-generated copy must be treated just as any other copy in the newspaper environment, which means it may not be the staff-cutting tool accountants envision.
Editors still need to fact check and copy edit, and indeed need to be more diligent with copy coming from people they do not know and trust. There can be cost savings, but more importantly, by making readers part of the news gathering community there will be more feet on the ground finding significant stories as well as heart warming community features.
Read more from Kyle and learn more about how to capitalize on user-generated content on your newspapers Web site, to go www.naa.org/ugcopportunities.