Introducing Developing Stories: An experiment in featured content
Last week I laid out details about our editorial team and guidelines when it comes to finding and featuring content on Current.com. Today we’re launching a brand new community-based experiment built on top of our editorial practices which, for lack of a better name, I’m calling “Developing Stories.”
What is a Developing Story?
This doesn’t always hold true, but quite frequently we notice that stories we feature on Current.com actually speak to a larger, ongoing story in play. Sometimes these stories are stretched out over longer periods of time (e.g. the ongoing discussions around public options in healthcare reform, or the debates surrounding gay marriage), and other times these stories are developing rapidly over the course of hours (e.g. Elections 2009, Afghan presidential elections, or Michael Jackson’s death).
Starting today, we’ll begin identifying certain featured stories that we think have the opportunity to be “developed” further. These stories will be added to our Developing Stories group, and we’ll clearly mark it as such on both the story page and whichever image is picked to accompany the story.
What does it mean to have a story picked as a Developing Story?
This is the cool part. Getting your story featured as a Developing Story is like having the stage handed over to you. We’re looking to take a closer look at the underpinnings of these stories, and we’re giving you the opportunity to take on the role of online investigative journalist in the process. As long as things continue to progress in a relevant way, your story will remain featured on Current.com.
