Atlantic decides to keep experiment in “radical transparency”
On Wednesday, the online publishing arm of the Atlantic, dubbed the Atlantic Wire, decided to open its online editing process to the public. At first they thought it would be a one-day-only experiment; now it could become a permanent feature.
On Wednesday, the online publishing arm of The Atlantic, dubbed The Atlantic Wire, decided to open its online editing process to the public. At first they thought it would be a one-day only experiment; now it could become a permanent feature.
“Like many web news operations, The Atlantic Wire hangs out all day in Campfire exchanging links, keeping everyone up to date on stories and talking a lot about logistics,” writes editor Gabriel Snyder in a post describing the decision. “The discussion is more IM than news meeting, but why just let it sit there?”
Indeed, why? Why not just let everybody see that editorial conversation?
“The reason for our experiment in transparency,” he continues, “was primarily that we couldn’t think of a good reason not to do it. If anything it would be interesting for the news junkies who want to see ‘how the blog sausage is made,’ as Nieman Lab put it. And by opening the process up, anyone who wanted to jump in can do so. We do a pretty good job of keeping on top of the news. The more people who contribute, the better The Atlantic Wire is.”
So how long will it last?
“We first thought this would be a one-day experiment,” writes Snyder, “but now it’s sort of open-ended — just like Open Wire — and we’ll see where it goes.”
You can join the conversation, and check out what everyone is saying, on the site’s Open Wire section. You’ll only need a Disqus account (free) to comment yourself.
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