In an effort to make decisions and activities transparent, Steven A. Smith, editor of The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, invites members of the public into morning news meetings, assigns five editors to be part of an online blog called “Ask the Editors” in which they explain news decisions, and welcomes the daily critique of five citizen bloggers as they share views about the newspaper’s efforts in an online feature called “News Is a Conversation.” As Smith writes, “In the transparent newsroom, citizens are partners in the news conversation, not just passive consumers of news and information.” Read more
