There has been lots of talk of late about the death of major newspapers, but what exactly are the shifts underway in the news media, and how is the crowd coming in? Here are the four emerging trends we see.

• Crowdfunded Journalism
  Community funding of a story, either before or after it is written.

  Example: Spot.us

  Pro: The long tail of journalism. Niche stories get written because the crowd funds them. Readers can connect with the content that they think is most important.

  Con: Things get lost in the shuffle, no clear path to connect interested readers with the right writers and articles.

• Citizen Reporting
  The timely reporting of events as they happen by regular people. Blogging about natural disasters, twittering updates on events – anything that comes up from someone being in the right place at the right time.

  Examples: Twitter, blogs, Nowpublic

  Pro: We get information faster than ever.

  Con: No fact checking and no editor to balance the news. Risk of noise not news with “tabloid” tactic of catching high profile people at inopportune moments and broadcasting to the world.

• Collaborative Editorials
  The coming together online of great minds to further critical thought on hot topics. Enlisting elite contributors to write and exchange ideas within their area of expertise.

  Examples: The Mark News, Crooked Timber, Open Democracy

  Pro: Cuts out the middle men so you learn directly from experts with the most valuable insights. Provides a unique platform for learning and advancing ideas that otherwise may not see the light of day.

  Con: Arguably not as accessible as old world news considering the average newspaper targets about a grade 5 reading level. Experts may write over reader’s heads.

• Crowd Ranked and Researched
  Relying on the crowd to complete tasks, whether it is sorting through a high volume of data, or ranking news ideas or articles so crowd favourites filter to the top.

  Examples: Digg, The Guardian, NY1

  Pro: Takes some of the costs and time out of investigative reporting so high volume analysis can still happen and stories get told. Has the power to make media most relevant to the audience.

  Con: Without the right incentives, and right crowdsourcing method, people may lose interest and the tasks won’t get done.

As we watch these media shifts, Ryan Sholin is blogging on Idea Lab wondering what to call the people formerly known as the audience. Idea Lab is a group blog by innovators who are reinventing community news for the Digital Age.

Some things we still need to think about: How do we want news delivered in the future? What do we see as valuable news?