This blog post from an educator who was once managing editor of a major metropolitan daily newspaper, as well as a past president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, cuts to the heart of both the NewsTrust experience and one of its major challenges: "evaluators are not going to be casual readers. Everybody can read the rated stories on the site, but to complete a review of a story a reader is going to have to be smart and willing to invest a considerable amount of time in the process."

Sorry y'all, but I still believe there is major unsolved problem that the writer barely touches upon. When you have people who don't know journalism, and don't know the subject, or who have such strong beliefs that they get in the way of facts -- and believe me we have those people -- there is a major problem. The story, any story, is like the candidate for homecoming queen. The results often are popularity of an idea or sometimes simple ignorance of truth. As highly useful as NewsTrust is, and as much as I respect the people using it, the results are no more accurate in many cases than a tone deaf person playing the violin, or someone who is color blind doing interior decorating. To judge the QUALITY of a story takes far more ... More »

The story did not give clear information on why NewsTrust is a good thing. An OK read of a story close to home...

Former Star Tribune editor Tim McGuire's blog post about NewsTrust is remarkable in its accuracy, depth and insight, which is no small feat. The author presents relevant, factual information about this project, and fairly presents both challenges and opportunities of this new initiative. I also think he nails it on the head by pointing to the potential of NewsTrust as a news literacy tool for education. We're on it, and hope to join forces with some great new educational partners in coming months ... ;o) [Disclosure: I am the subject of this article, written about a presentation I gave to our advisor Dan Gillmor's colleagues at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkhite School of Journalism]

A balanced consideration of NewsTrust's potential from someone within the J-School establishment.

I would have felt better if Tim McGuire's name had popped up as a member. It would have indicated first hand knowledge.

Mr. McGuire seems to understand the exceptional goals NewsTrust has and the challenges it faces. His concerns about participation and elitism are well worth noting. I believe that the NewsTrust team has already begun to look at and implement new methodologies for participation which are intended to engage a broader audience. It is nice to know you are ahead of the criticism, in fact that it is an affirmation for your new efforts.

glad to see newstrust getting some attention by some of the more established players in the citizen media space.