Christina Mather

There are many tourist attractions that could draw you to Long Beach. Whether it's the TED Conference in February, the Toyota Grand Prix in April, or weddings on the Queen Mary in the summer, the diverse city has something to offer just about anyone.

Anyone, that is, except for surfers. 

Photo, left: A bicyclist and kite-flyer glide along Long Beach shores. The Breakwater is barely perceptible in the horizon. At far left, the THUMS Oil Islands are disguised to look like a mini condominium resort. 

 

Beer isn't the only thing creating a buzz at bars.

 

John Morris, owner of Smooth's Sports Grille, is used to patrons gathering at his bar to cheer on events. From the Superbowl to the Series, Smooth's is a downtown Long Beach haven for sports fans, with flat screens covering every wall of the room. 

But this is the first time he's seen so many people gather at his bar to cheer on candidates. 

This week's buildup to the debate was as much of a roller coaster as the Dow Jones average. After McCain's threatened debate pull-out on Wednesday, talk about the scheduled debate grew to a fever pitch.

Earlier this month, nomination speeches drew audiences of more than 40-million, and analysts again expected record-breaking television audiences.

Even Friday night bar crowds were all set to watch, with drinking games in place: one sip when McCain starts in with "my friends," another when Obama says the word "change," reports David Bauder, television writer for the AP. The 6 PM kick-off started 90 minutes of debates between the candidates, moderated by PBS

But unlike - ahem - a certain football game the night before, this was no major upset by either party.

At a time when journalism faces public distrust and a shake-up of old and new media, two websites are creatively meeting these challenges head-on.

The websites NewsTrust, which made its debut in 2006, and SpinSpotter, which debuted September 8, seek to actively engage the community-at-large in journalistic standards and ethics. These self-regulating systems seek to serve both journalists and news consumers alike, using constantly modulating computer algorithms to collectively identify both high-quality journalism - as well as journalism that's full of spin.  

NewsTrust's focus is on news credibility, enabling users to review news articles based on criteria such as fairness, evidence, and sourcing. Users can post links and rate the credibility of an article through a NewsTrust review window, which then helps build the reputation for the news organization on the site. The reviewers themselves are also evaluated, getting their own ratings based on their work - which effects how much weight their review holds on the site. NewsTrust, says founder Fabrice Florin in an email, "invites news consumers to participate in a meaningful quest for quality news and information - with a focus on facts rather than opinions, which makes them more thoughtful and informed citizens." 

On SpinSpotter, users download a "Spinoculars" application, which uses algorthms and a database of rules to highlight possible instances of "spin" on a news site. Users pitch in by using "spin markers" to highlight anything they see as spin. 

SpinSpotter's goal is to increase transparency, and they start with their own site. Indeed, bios of management and the journalism advisory board are very transparent. There's CEO John Acheson, described as socially liberal/fiscally conservative, whose philanthropic efforts include Climate Solutions and the Seattle Symphony. The Journalism Advisory Board includes everyone from writer/journalist Brooke Allen, a self-described "proud, left-wing Democrat," to Jonah Goldberg, politically conservative and editor-at-large of the National Review. 

"One should furnish what one seeks, so we are transparent," said founder Todd Herman in an email. "We make our bios, our rules and our mistakes public because it's the right thing to do and because we want people to make up their minds about SpinSpotter with as much information as possible." 

Neither Florin nor Herman are strangers to new media. Florin has helped innovate new digital media for Apple and Macromedia, with a resume that includes launching shockwave.com and creating new platforms for video journalism at ABC and MTV. Herman, who is described on the SpinSpotter site as a "new media innovator, media-brat, and constitutional law geek," has been in management at MSNBC and Microsoft and has a resume that includes writing the initial business plan for MSN Video.  

But rather than creating platforms that mimic popularity-based social news sites like Digg, both their sites adhere to standards of journalistic ethics as the rules that guide the algorthms.  Like other systems that rely on algorthm, the more users mark spin  - the more the public is engaged - the more effective the tool becomes.

While engaging the public, the sites can also be used to benefit traditional journalists in several ways. 

Herman says SpinSpotter can be an used by journalists to see how well their own writing adheres to the spin rules. "I have seen several journalists look at their pieces through this lens--the way someone who doesn't know what went into a story, only what went on the page would do--and actually blush at something they wrote . . . writing which, incidentally, I didn't find objectionable," he says. Through the process reporters can also see how their writing stacks up next to other journalists when it comes to spin transgressions. 

On NewsTrust, journalists from partner sites can promote their best work - which is based on a criteria of journalistic integrity. "At a time when market demand for quality journalism is declining rapidly, it is in the best interest of traditional journalists to help develop a public appreciation for the qualities that differentiate them from other content providers," Florin wrote. News organizations can use the site to help news consumers in a "meaningful quest for quality news and information," which in turn, he says, helps create customer loyalty. 

But will this self-policing work? Jay Rosen, whose Spinewatch campaign-journalism initiative requires the same kind of collective effort as SpinSpotter and NewsTrust, points to the effects of positive peer pressure as evidence of effectiveness. "There's a strong herd element in the campaign press," he says in  an interview for MediaShift Idea Lab. "If people can see that others have a response to this challenge, it makes them think of their own response." His philosophy is not far off from those of Herman and Florin. He says that engagement is a crucial part of meeting the challenge of the problems. "The potential coalition--at least in theory--is everyone who thinks that's an important thing to do." 

An independent study of NewsTrust by the University of Michigan confirms the effectiveness of the review tools. And SpinSpotter, which relies on transparency and dialogue, is putting measures in place to ensure its effectiveness. The site currently invites reporters to email them if they feel they were unfairly reviewed, and Herman says they are working on creating a "Reporter's Response" feature on the application which would alert reviewers to a reporter's answer.

They both cite the heart of journalism - as an essential force in an effective democracy - as the driving heart of their mission.

"Spin-Spotting takes a volunteer army," it says on the SpinSpotter website. "Democracy runs smoother when we get the stories straight and the facts right (the founding fathers certainly thought so)." Florin says helping readers become media literate "supports democracy and promotes the journalistic values we all stand for." 

If these websites do what they're set out to do, they could increase the ability of journalism to play its essential role in an effective democracy by pushing for a higher level of journalistic integrity. But the sites - like democracy itself - are effective only if informed people engage and participate.

With "review window" features and browser widgets like "Spinoculars," that shouldn't be hard to do.