Editorial: Getting to know Happynews.com; a Letter from the Editors

As Happynews.com prepares to enter into our second exciting month of bringing positive news into the world, we would like to thank our citizen journalists for all of their contributions, as well as tell you more about Happynews.com and why we feel citizen-journalism is key to our site's success.

What are we really?

We're obviously different from most news sites in that we're looking for happy stories only. We're a news supplement, or online magazine, if you will, that seeks to add to a newsreader's experience. So we're not going to be interested in some stories, including some very newsworthy ones. For example, the Valerie Plame scandal and crisis in Darfur are newsworthy and relevant. But they make as much sense here as they would in Cat Fancy or Motorcycle Cruiser Magazine - it's just not what we do.

Our basic belief is not that people should be insulated from bad news. Far from it. We encourage people to be fully engaged, fully informed citizens. That means we need to know the good and the bad. We just believe much of the traditional media has strayed from this course, and reports a disproportionate amount of negative news. We are trying to balance the scales back out. Plus, let's be honest, there are some days when we have just "had enough" and need a pick-me-up. Hopefully this site accomplishes that.

The Added Value of Citizen Journalism to Our Site

We look especially for those happy positive stories that we can't get anywhere else - and that means assigning Citizen Journalists to go out and interview people for direct quotes, to find anecdotes, and cover events in their backyards and communities that may not grab the attention of standard media outlets. This fresh and immediate perspective is the added value Citizen Journalism brings our readers.

Already, pictures from the 2004 Tsunami and the London underground bombings on July 7 have come not from professionals, but from amateurs, proving the value of the regular person's perspective in newsgathering. Quite simply, having citizen journalists means that we can have eyes and ears in places that professional journalists wouldn't normally be stationed - news happens every day in many places in the world.

It's a bold and exciting experiment in reporting - but we hope that other news organizations feel it is worthwhile and seek to emulate it.

Where do we get our news?

Citizen Journalists

Our citizen journalists are teachers, bus drivers, mothers, fathers, community volunteers, beginning writers, college students, friends, just about anyone who wants to share local stories with the world. We pay these folks a small per word gratuity and add tip jars to their work so our readers can thank them for taking the time to send us news from their worlds. We know no one is going to buy a vacation home or put their child through college on what we are able to pay them for stories. Still, we choose to pay *something* to partially acknowledge the value we place on these stories as opposed to relying on unpaid submissions. We trust people understand we wish we could pay more, but the economic realities of the site preclude that. So please support their hard work. Dozens have jumped on board already and are getting some beginning journalism experience and clips in the process. Additionally our citizen-journalist articles are published alongside the work of professional freelance journalists, wire stories, and stories from our staff.

Freelance Writers

Professional freelance journalists also feel compelled to contribute stories to our site. Some of these freelancers have written for The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, Glamour, The Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. You will note some stories written by freelance professional journalists are not listed as citizen journalist pieces. Pay rate for these stories is based on the depth of research required, the immediacy/relevance of content to current events, and the writer's resume/experience. When we elect to use these stories (assigned to or pitched by professional writers) HappyNews editors use the above criteria to determine the pay rate offered to the freelance professional writer on a story by story basis.

Wire Stories

We also pull all the positive news stories we can from various wire services. These stories are credited to the wires from which they are obtained.

Why the Need for Positive News?

There are a number of different factors for turning off and tuning out regular news - but a lot of people don't like to talk about the news these days. Too depressing, too violent, too controversial? Whatever the reason, we believe there would be more talk about all the news if there was more positive content in the news to talk about; so we are doing something about it.

By combining positive news reporting with citizen journalism we give new and previously unpublished writers an amplified voice; and we give our readers a great source for happy news rarely covered by regular media outlets. This concept of reporting also encourages people to get in contact with their communities again - every time a citizen journalist goes out to contact someone in their neighborhood with a story, a friendship might form. People who go out and investigate their neighborhoods on a regular basis may develop a deeper concern for their community and the people in it. It's a win-win situation.