Cape Town: How a web 2.0 newspaper is born.

Posted by Ollie Brock on June 6, 2007 at 5:00 PM

Can you imagine that 40 000 people can work on one story for your newspaper? “Yes it is possible, we did it,” said Grzegorz Piechota, special projects editor of Gazeta Wyborcza in Poland, at the 14th World Editors Forum.

Through a campaign on problems pregnant women were facing in Polish hospitals, the newspaper was able to mobilise 40 000 pregnant women over a number if years to write reviews about their experiences.

“Thanks to the internet, we got thousands of reviews of all aspects, from young mothers giving birth, looking at all kinds of problems, covering various issues, problems and doing profiles.”

They posted over 200 000 photos on our web.

Even though the process involved fact-checking and editing with a number of editors and reporters, covering 413 hospitals, special supplements were made and some mums were even ready pay to see pictures of their babies in the supplements.

“Why did those 40 000 decided to share their experiences? Well, because they liked to share what they went through.”

“If you really want the readers to be involved, give them a cause - they are the best experts in real life issues”.

By Bate Felix, Wits University Journalism

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