Scope and Challenges
One of the biggest challenges for us as a group was fully imagining the scope of work and activity within a newsroom, and how many details we needed to envision while simulating a workflow and crafting a mission statement and an organizational summary. The concept of keeping editorial and management (at a traditional newsroom) separated now makes a lot of sense, as there were many organisational challenges that we did not anticipate. For example, zeroing in on our business model and our code of ethics.
The deliberation process involved was also prolonged due to the diversity present in the newsroom. Given that each of us hails from different backgrounds and cultures, it took a lot of deliberation to arrive at a consensus. However, we look at this as a strength as it makes our process and product more well-rounded, well thought out and nuanced. This is a triumph of our model. Where else can you say there was a big debate over whether a ‘Cultural Awareness Committee’ should be present or not? The debates were free-flowing and constructive, and the newsroom learned a lot about decision making during the conception of this project.
Ultimately, the concept of this simulated newsroom bodes well for future media’s community engagement practices. The media landscape is at an inflection point wherein it needs to talk with audiences instead of at them. We are now moving into an age of Action Beyond Headlines.