The details on how we’re going out — it’s a must-read series on Jeff’s hottest scandal — and a few hints as to where we might end up.
By Jeremy Alford
We launched THE JEFFERSON REPORT with an open mind and a simple mission. We wanted to shed new light on corruption, expose wasteful spending and, most importantly, explain in simple terms the politics behind the political process — all from a non-partisan perspective that didn’t hold punches.
Jefferson Parish was the perfect locale to launch this experiment more than 20 months ago. Even though it was among Louisiana’s largest parishes, there were no local-specific mainstream media outlets; the administration was awash in federal investigations; and citizen activists were becoming more involved.
Additionally, February 2010 seemed like an opportune time. Mainstream media outlets were obviously in a transitional mode in effort to catch up with the Web and and blogs were gaining prominence. We felt there was a middle ground that hadn’t been explored yet.
For more than a year, we’ve attempted to merge civic journalism and crowd sourcing with a unique tone to fill this gap:
— TJR dedicated three months to LOUISIANA CONFIDENTIAL to single out issues with taxpayer-funded contracts on the parish level.
— TJR commissioned a poll to offer a snapshot of issues that could be improved upon in Jeff and the results were featured in coverage by THE TIMES-PICAYUNE.
— TJR established a partnership with WWL-TV, co-producing a series of investigative stories out of Jefferson Parish.
All of this was made possible by Lane Grigsby of Baton Rouge, whose vision it was to establish a new source for information on government and politics. Furthermore, he got the ball rolling by paying writers a per story rate for their services and underwriting the few design and domain needs that cropped up.
With complete creative freedom and few directives, though, the editorial staff, content from contributors and input from readers are what eventually created this not-for-profit model. While the publisher of this site remains intimately involved in Louisiana politics — he’s a major donor and a backer of various policy campaigns — he allowed TJR to develop its own voice without interference.
As a result, TJR became a site with access to a mainstream media audience despite its strong local focus, which was specific to one parish and a handful of particular issues. It’s unlikely that you’ll see a similar format on the local level again anytime soon, unless more individuals step forward to contribute to this evolving form of communication.
And that brings us to the real reason behind this post…
If you’ve noticed the lack of posts over the past month or so, then you’ve probably already realized that we’re closing up shop. But it won’t happen without a bang. As the fall elections draw closer, we’ll publish a three-part series entitled “Greed.”
The series promises to not only provide a broader picture of how politics work in the region, but likewise offer new insights into what may be the parish’s most riveting scandal of all time.
After that, TJR fades to black, although we’ll leave our work up for public consumption. Hopefully, it will also serve as a reminder that this kind of reportage and model can be successful without an agenda.
Trust us, however, when we tell you that all of the lessons learned — crowd sourcing investigations (it seems to work best with data-heavy stories), frequency of reports (readers will wait for long-form writing, but content has to be constant), the value of public records (worth the patience and energy; must be a priority), and tones that resonate (colorful presentations can help readers better understand complex subjects) — will be put to good use in the near future.
What does that mean exactly? Well, let’s just say that we’re moving on and up from “THE JEFFERSON REPORT” piece, but maintaing the “.com” part for another exciting endeavor.
Tune back in Wednesday, Oct. 12 to see what’s on our desk. Then check in again the following week to catch TJR’s closing salvo.
