Crowdsourcing examples

Go on a locals NEWS website. Find 3 stories. Rewrite the headline. Condense story to 150 words. In bullets, identify how you would “crowdsource” that story.

(Assignment after jump)

From DentonRC.com:

City Council to vote on revamping property regulations

The City of Denton City Council will vote tonight on updating some of its property maintenance codes.

The new set of codes will unite several ordinances as well as add some additional regulations to the outdated set.

Among the biggest changes is the addition of “chronic defender” definition for repeat code violators.  The new codes would allow tougher prosecution for residents who break the code more than three times a year.

The last attempt to change the maintenance codes was in 2006 but was never implemented after protest from property managers, real estate agents and other critics who criticized the proposal.

This time around the city has seen little resistance to the change after forming a council committee and resident advisory committee.

The council’s vote tonight will be on the first 12 articles, which both the council committee and advisory committee have agreed upon.  Included in the articles are rules for noise, odors, junk vehicles, lawn care, trash and debris, outdoor storage, stagnant water, fences, temporary carports, parking and graffiti.

• I would add a map that would use crowdsourcing to allow Denton residents to show if they’ve had a violation before and how many.  This could lead to another story of how the City of Denton is picking on certain neighborhoods more than others.  It would also help show how often people are pegged as repeat offenders.
• I would also include a poll to see how residents would vote on the issue that the council will vote on.

Students, teachers reflect on lost lives of Denton students

Funerals have been set for two Denton teens who died in a car crash Saturday on North Elm Street.

The services for eighth-grader Bryan Moreno Pena, 14, and high school sophomore Jhon Bernal-Garcia, 16, will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.

Counselors assisted grieving students yesterday at Davis School where the two teens attended school in Denton.

The boys’ teachers reflected on their kindness and willingness to always lend a hand whenever the opportunity presented itself.

The Kia they were driving rolled over at least four to five times and crashed into a large bush in the median and into the northbound lanes.  The other vehicle went the opposite direction and slid sideways into a utility pole.

Donations for memorial services have been set up at Denton Area Teachers Credit Union, 225 W. Mulberry St., Denton, TX 76201.

• To crowdsource this story I would allow people to submit pictures on the children to create a memorial slideshow.  This would add an interactive element to the story that would draw out emotion in those who know the boys and those who don’t.

Texas bars keeping their own tabs with alcohol distributors

With a worsening economy, many Texans are staying at home instead of hitting the bars to drown their sorrows.

According to figures from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, bars and liquor stores behind in their payments to alcohol suppliers grew more than 18-percent in the last year.

The TABC counted almost 23,000 late payers last year a figure that more than doubled from 2006 to 2007 when only 7-percent paid late.

By law, suppliers are required to report every late payment to the TABC.  Alcohol sales must be paid for by the 10th or 25th of each month while beer must be paid for upon delivery.

The TABC declined to say what they think the cause of so many delinquent payments is.

• I would crowdsource this story by seeing who is going out, how often and to which bars.
• I would also include a map that had information, obtained from a Freedom of Information Act request, on local area bars and liquor stores that have had late payments and compare that with who is visiting those locations.