Gannett newsrooms restructure for digital

Cory Bergman November 4th, 2006

Gannett’s newspaper newsrooms are undergoing a “huge” restructuring into information centers that focus on four goals: 1) prioritize local news over national news 2) publish more user-generated content 3) become web-centered 24/7 news operations and 4) use “crowdsourcing” methods in large, investigative projects — putting the audience to work in digging up details on government malfeasance. “We’ve already had some really amazing results with the crowdsourcing element of this,” said Jennifer Carroll, Gannett’s VP for new media content. “Most of us got into this business because we were passionate about watchdog journalism and public service, and we’ve just watched those erode. We’ve learned that no one wants to read a 400-column-inch investigative feature online. But when you make them a part of the process they get incredibly engaged.”