It Takes a Community to Reinvent Journalism

A Q&A with Mike Fancher, former 20-year executive editor of the Seattle Times.

He's writing a Knight Commission white paper on local journalism and says, "Have the community at the center of everything you do...Bring people into your thought process. Get the benefit of finding out more precisely what their news information needs are, and be in a real partnership with them. And for Heaven's sakes, take advantage of their intelligence, their knowledge of the community and their ability to help you create better journalism. I think that would be a very important starting point."