Readers are invited to pitch stories and give feedback on existing articles, as well as observe the pitching and editing process -- something that usually takes place in chatroom client Campfire -- between full-time staff. Instead of Campfire, The Atlantic Wire has moved operations to an open comments thread.
"As with many web news operations, The Atlantic Wire is mostly edited via terse messages in a group chat room. Editors and writers spend the day logged onto Campfire pitching story ideas, exchanging links and keeping everyone up to date on the news of the day. So we had a thought: Why not move that out into the open and let anyone who wants to take part?" says editor Gabriel Snyder, who adds that the experiment was designed to increase transparency about the editorial process.
"I was afraid all of my writers were going to get stage fright and hold back, but some of the conversations were [still] funny," he notes.
The team picked up several story suggestions submitted by readers in the first day, including a series of photographs from a Reuters photographer whose Jakarta-bound plane was forced to make an emergency landing when one of its engines seemingly caught on fire, and another on the ongoing protests in Spain.
It's an applaudable initiative that is not only flattering to readers -- many of whom, we suspect, know and value the publication's brand as thoroughly as its staff -- but also enriches the scope and quality of The Atlantic Wire's journalism. We hope it's a model that will tested by other publications, as well.