[Keyword: online journalism, computer assisted reporting]. Here’s a good set of tips from the Online Journalism Review on using the internet to improve your journalism. “Online writers can solicit leads and advice from readers through open source reporting, or even ask readers to report a story themselves, through a distributed reporting project.”

This really forces you to re-think some of the fundamental work processes of journalism. Open Source Reporting, for instance, involves you announcing the topic you wish to investigate, and inviting readers to “submit leads, tips, sources and ideas”, with the potential benefits outweighing the potential loss of a scoop.