The Gazette shared its policy for removing content from its website. “There are many reasons we write stories about public safety and arrests. While details of many of the stories are gleaned from publicly available records, the passage of time changes how newsworthy the story is,” the policy states. “Using the criteria below, The Gazette will consider requests for removal of non-felony and non-violent criminal offenses. Other cases will be handled on an individual basis.” Publicly sharing your organization’s processes and guidelines show transparency and allows the public to hold your organization accountable.
The Gazette looks for opportunities to remind their community who their journalism is in service of. For them, having local, independent ownership is part of that story of service. Their primary accountability rests within their community.
The Gazette designed a button for their web stories that asked users if the information about how they reported a story was “helpful” or “not helpful.” Users weighed in on that questions by simply clicking on the words. This was added to pull-out boxes and at the end of written stories.
In print, multiple perspectives on an issue can often be found on the same page or in the same section, but online, each opinion or side of the story lives separately. The Gazette linked an editorial and three letters to the editor about a local issue together by using a pull-out box. The box highlighted the fact that the news organization had different perspectives available for users and then linked to each article.
The Gazette used a historic photo of their newsroom to highlight their connection to the community. The news organization did something similar before but saw a more positive response when using a photo from the past. The post also asked users for feedback by including a link to a Google Form.
Using Facebook the Gazette asked users for story ideas. They stressed their focus on community issues — and their local ownership — and specifically asked for ideas on what types of local stories the news organization should cover. The news team felt the comments were productive and that their focus on “local” in the post helped keep the conversation and comments positive.
The Gazette used Twitter to remind users of its mission. While sharing a link to a story about opioid abuse, the news team explained why they covered the topic from a particular angle and reminded users part of their mission is to “look for solutions facing Iowa.”
The Gazette used the Facebook Story (About) feature to share their history as a news organization. They discussed how long they have served the community and highlighted milestones along the way. By completing this section, anyone who clicks on their Facebook page will be able to learn more about their news organization and history in the community.
The Gazette decided to explain how it covered a story by writing a separate article on their website and linking to it from the main story page. They included the link inside a pull-out box on the story page.
The Gazette decided to explain how it covers crime stories by writing an FAQ on their website. By making it a separate article, it is something they can continuously link to and change if their policy or approach changes.
The Gazette started using Google Forms to ask users if anything in their stories needed more reporting or explanation. The forms were primarily created for local stories they wanted to dig into more. This resulted in information for them to advance the story, and also, sometimes led to a new story to cover.
The Gazette noticed a lot of users had questions about a story they covered. They looked at the questions and decided they warranted responses, so, the news team worked to find answers and published a follow-up story. They made sure to include language explaining their reporting process, which highlights how they listen to their users act on feedback they receive.
To help get more ideas on who they should talk to in their community, the Gazette decided to ask their users for help. Through a shaded pull-out box embedded in a web story, they asked for ideas identifying possible sources and general feedback on the story. In this example, it resulted in the newsroom receiving a handful of story ideas.
Asking for feedback is something that can be done on all mediums, including print. The Gazette used an advertisement in their print newspaper to ask people if they trust them. They found they received more detailed and helpful feedback from the people who responded after seeing the print ad vs. the digital posts asking for feedback.
The Gazette highlighted how they bring multiple perspectives into each story they cover by adding a pull-out box to their web story. The box highlighted what people on each side of the issue thought, shared a link to their in-depth coverage and asked users for feedback.
