“Too often, when newsrooms think about how to redefine their relationship with their community, they default to some online product or digital gimmick. There’s certainly a wealth of opportunities to do that. But in the end, nothing beats sitting in a room with those people, building bonds, and having an open-ended conversation about how to re-imagine the relationship between the newsroom and the community.

Worst case, you build some morale and solid sources. Best case: By working together, you ignite a spark of innovation that puts the newsroom on a new path.”

So why aren’t you organizing your own Copycamp?

But for some highlights check out.

David Cohn’s blog post: CopyCamp – The Idea Has Legs: What Worked and What Could be Improved

Chris Amico’s blog and video: CopyCamp was awesome. No other word for it. Anytime a newspaper opens its doors and lets its readers say what could be done better, that’s a good thing, and the Mercury News reporters and editors who came can’t be thanked enough. I don’t know if I could have after ending the week the way they did.

Rob Knight: Copycamp was Awesome!:  Through bleary eyes and lack of sleep, I just spent a great day at CopyCamp, a barcamp-style event hosted at the Mercury News building in San Jose. There were about 40 participants, including several Mercury News reporters and editors. We had a couple of group discussions and 4 breakout sessions. The discussions centered around the Mercury News’ style, tone, and technique in its coverage of race, immigration policy, the work of non-profit organizations and activism groups, technology, and business. The discussions were passionate and eloquent. I was moved by the obvious impact the Mercury News has in all of the diverse communities of the Bay Area

Greetings:

We’re looking forward to seeing you on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the San Jose Mercury News for our first CopyCamp. Thank you for registering. Here are a few more details about the event.

Format: We’d like folks to arrive between 10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. We expect to have 40 to 50 folks there. But if you have a friend or colleague or family member you think might be interested, please feel free to bring them along.

We’ll have coffee, tea, and bagels. We’ll convene at 10:15 a.m., introduce ourselves, and explain the format. Folks who are attending will be asked to propose topics they’d like to discuss in a breakout session. We’ll break into groups and folks can chose from one of the three sessions. We’ll do two rounds of breakouts: one before lunch, and one after. That means we can probably do up to six sessions.

The goal of these breakout sessions is to spark discussion and participation among folks, rather than just sitting and listening to someone make a presentation. As you get ready for Saturday, think of a session you’d like to propose, or a conversation you’d like to have related to our central topic: Race & Demographics.

For instance, I plan to propose the following session:

H1-B visas: How can the Mercury News do a better job of covering this story? And how can we promote civility in the discussions around this controversial topic?

If you’d like, you can e-mail me some ideas you have in advance. Or, you can register at the site we’ve created for the event: www.majorityofnone.com and post them there.

Directions: The Mercury News is located at 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose. If you’re coming on U.S. 880, exit at Brokaw Road and go east. Turn right on Ridder Park Drive. Follow the drive past the front of the building, and park in the lot on the west side of the building (it’s the side closest to the freeway). There are two doors on that side of the building. As you approach the building, go the door further to the right. There will be someone there to let you in.

Here is a link to a map:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=750+Ridder+Park+Dr,+San+Jose,+CA+95131&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=36.915634,62.666016&ie=UTF8&ll=37.378393,-121.901615&spn=0.009054,0.015299&z=16&iwloc=addr

Well – they don’t call it “copycamp,” but it is undoubtedly the same idea.

Via J.D. Lasica at SocialMediaBiz

KQED is sponsoring the Un-Conference on Digital Media, Education and 21st Century Skills with Lightning Talks.

When: Saturday, May 17, 10 am to 3 pm

Where: KQED, 2601 Mariposa, San Francisco

Why: Share something you know or have done, and learn something you didn’t or haven’t.

What it is: An unconference, where the content of the sessions is driven and created by the participants. Come and discuss what you know, or would like to know about new media, education, and 21st century skills.

Details: Lightning talks, short presentations given at a conference (or un-conference) by attendees. Lightning talks last only 7 minutes, allowing several to be delivered in a single period by different speakers. We encourage you to present your work, and come on up to the podium! Send requests to lrule at kqed.org

Agenda: Morning: Welcome and Opening Statement; Introduction and Interests; Lightning talks

Lunch provided. Afternoon hands-on sessions: Google Earth training (bring a digital picture of a place you love); Mobile Devices, storytelling, and place-based learning (you’ll walk the neighborhood) or suggest your own topic and lead a tutorial or discussion. Call with questions: 415-553-2192

Also: Friday evening (May 16, 6:30-8:30 at KQED) as we celebrate our local high school digital storytellers who participated in the KQED’s 6th Annual Digital Storytelling Contest. Stories will be screened and fabulous prizes awarded.

CopyCamp is go for June 28, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Merc.

Start spreading the news.

SIGN UP

About six months later, working on the BeatBlogging project I had an opportunity to speak with Chris and Matt Mansfield, who both work at the San Jose Mercury News and are in charge of the rethink process that the newspaper is currently going through.

Today I’m excited to announce that the San Jose Mercury News – a local paper with a national appeal, will host the first ever CopyCamp!

Sign up to attend here.

It’s a little early to visit the wiki and sign up now. We are looking at an April date. But I’m very excited about the event and I know it will prove to be very valuable for the Merc. My hope is that other news organizations follow their lead.

Are you interested in organizing your own CopyCamp? Leave a comment – we will get back to you.