In the history of journalism, great revolutions have often started in small newspapers. We must therefore pay attention to what is happening to the New Haven Register, a newspaper founded in 1812 in Connecticut, which covers the news of 19 cities and sells about 75 copies. In 2009, the property had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but now things are better. To the point that the newspaper has decided to do away with the old and obsolete division of sectors into "Foreign", "Internal", "Economics", "Chronicle" and has created three new divisions: one dedicated to investigative journalism, another to encourage the participation of the community in the information process and the third in the management of breaking news. This innovation has rekindled the debate in the US between those who argue (Dean Starkman, in the article "Confidence game" in the Columbia Journalism Review) that "digital first" journalism is compromising the ability of newsrooms to operate in the common interest, because haste it is the enemy of in-depth analysis and quality, and those who instead claim that the right balance between "fast" and "slow" news can give excellent results.
At the Register, the new group in charge of investigative journalism will delve into topics involving the New Haven community, with particular, didactic attention to the daily verification of announcements and promises made by public figures. At the same time, the community will be invited to collaborate with the newspaper to report issues that can activate the investigative group. The new breaking news sector will need more speed to publish information immediately online or on tablets. During hurricane Irene, the activity of the "fast" group proved to be extremely useful for the public interest, promptly communicating any information that could contribute to the safety of citizens. The slow traditional media would have proved completely unsuitable for handling information about an approaching hurricane.
By shifting the focal point of attention from the paper edition to a new, more agile multimedia newsroom, resources have been freed up for quality. “Our digital audience – said director Matt DeRenzo – is superior to that of the paper edition and we have a duty to improve the points of contact. Digital means real time and users expect us to respond in real time, but being fast doesn't exempt you from respecting the basic codes of journalism. The reason for our changes is to create an agile organization that focuses on quality journalism and content that is relevant to the lives of our readers."
Especially in Europe, it will take some time before we dismantle the old editorial organizations by accepting the idea that the needs of readers have changed. In the meantime, you can watch how they fare in New Haven.
