Ever stumbled across a news story you liked online and decided to forward it to a friend?
Imagine if you could pass it along to the whole world.
That's the essence of NewsTrust.net, a nonpartisan, non-profit Web site that allows users to rate news stories they read on the Web. Those ratings are combined with those of other site users. The highest-rated news stories jump to the front page, where every site visitor can see which ones the community thinks are best.
The goal: to expose users to news stories--and sources--they might not otherwise see.
"We want to get citizens to take a moment to go beyond their usual news consumption habits, to broaden their perspective," says Fabrice Florin, NewsTrust's executive director.
"If your viewpoint is from the right, take a look at a news source from the left. If your viewpoint is from the left, take a look at what media from the right are saying. If you tend to read mainly mainstream press, take a look at some independent journalism."
PBS Engage and "P.O.V." joined forces with NewsTrust on July 1, sending users on a 14-day "news hunt" for the best stories about this year's presidential election.
The process can be demanding: Users are asked to rate a story on fairness, context and the strength of the evidence presented, among several other factors.
Among the items users have rated as the best so far: a McClatchy Newspapers story about Republican funding challenges, an evaluation of Barack Obama's voting record on taxes by the nonpartisan site FactCheck.org and a Newsweek online column that lavishes praise on John McCain's campaign blog.
NewsTrust offers a list of all the stories its users have collected since the partnership with PBS Engage and "P.O.V." began, as well as a detailed explanation of how the news hunt works.
Fabrice hopes more users will join the hunt.
"Come in and broaden your perspective," he says. "Take a look at some of the great journalism we've found so far and help us find some more."
What factors do you think determines a news story's value? What kind of news sources do you tend to use? Mainstream media? Independent journalists? Something else.
Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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