Stories on Community Journalism

I always enjoy hearing what people have to say about working in community journalism. Here are a few samples:

• Lil Mirando - Honored to Practice Community Journalism (Hammond Star) - "My first day on the job I learned that the police reporter before me had screwed up his notes about a crime report and erroneously listed a store manager as a shoplifter. As a result, we had a huge trust issue with the police. It was eventually resolved over time as we got to know each other." This is the thing about community journalism - a lot of the ethical issues are self enforcing when you have to live and work with the people you are covering.
• David Knopf - Returning to Community Journalism After Working in the City (Sun Tribune) - "It was a fast start, indeed, for 2010. For me, it began on Dec. 14, 2009, the day I returned to doing what I like best — working for a community newspaper. If happiness could be backdated or made retroactive, I might say it was the best Thanksgiving I’ve had, with so much to be thankful for." We know the metro papers are facing serious economic problems these days, but it seems as though there is still life at the community papers.
• Jock Lauterer's students at UNC launched the Durham Voice, a community newspaper looking at the Northeast Central Durham community. Here's a video about what the students got out of working on the project. This video was posted by Lisa Marie Albert.