Could the local coffee shop become the new newsroom for local reporters?
According to Mallary Tenore at PoynterOnline, journalists operating out of coffee shops in the US have been finding stories and making contacts like never before, as they quite literally integrate themselves within their community patch.
Many editors consider their best reporters the ones they never see — because they’re out in the community. Fisher at The Washington Post said the reporters who worked out of coffee shops for the day found sources and stories they may not have otherwise come across.
Rather than keeping reporters at their office desks, it appears that editors who let a journalist’s quick ‘cuppa’ seep into an all-day pursuit will reap the rewards. Journalism.co.uk reported in June how Freehold InJersey (FinJ) had moved its newsroom to a local cafe. They hoped this would invite stronger links between the community news site and its local readers. They even provide a free computer for readers to use.
I think we need more than a coffee shop. We need pop up shops – an actual space – which also attracts visitors as well as readers.
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LOL. Soon, all newsrooms won’t have any office space to speak of and reporters will be left with nothing but coffee shops. I don’t necessarily see this as something to celebrate.