I’ve written a new piece for the Danish Centre for Journalism and Further Education where I suggest some ideas for how the media can handle the emerging symbiosis between media and their audiences (in Norwegian). The main points in brief:

• Respect the internet culture: The media have a history of fearing, ignoring, misunderstanding and/or impeding innovations related to the internet. How many new web sensations have been created by the established media? Not Wikipedia, Google or Flickr – or Movable Type. The first rule for the media must be to understand the motivation of the people behind the web’s innovations, and to resist the temptation to exploit or monopolize the new genres that emerge.
• Learn from best practice: Standard consultant advice, but still valid. A couple of examples: The Wikipedia community seems to function extraordinarily well. The necessary control of quality and adherence to community rules is done by experienced users. The community polices itself, as it were (expect more about Wikipedia on this blog in the coming months, by the way). Another example is the new Netzeitung project Readers Edition, where editing of citizen journalism stories is done by moderators, not the editors. This experiment is something to watch closely.
• Hire a community editor: Most news websites will have to resolve how they communicate and integrate with their audiences. This will be a strategically important area, no doubt. So they will need a visible community editor to organize their efforts. He or she should initiate debates and be a kind of ombudsman for readers/users.
• Experiment more: One thing I’m certain of: Journalism online will become more ambitious. One obvious possibility is to involve readers more, and on a daily basis, not just when a tsunami or a terrorist hits. But citizen media and reader involvement isn’t everything. Dynamic database projects such as Washington Post’s Congress votes database show the way forward: creative use of best practice of the web to enhance journalism.